Stargazers
by twentythirteen
Summary: Though humans have colonized space, war is still ever-present. The Joint Galactic Committee and the Outer Reach fight each other for control of the galaxy, but the arrival of the Sirens throw that war into chaos and create a whole new conflict. Now, it is up to a group of space pirates and strange women known as 'ship girls' to decide the fate of the cosmos. Ship girls in space.
1. Big Bang I

_A/N: Hello, and thanks for reading. I have been wanting to write something on Azur Lane for a while now, but I just couldn't figure out a good way to start, so I put the project off for several months. I've also already written a Kancolle story, and since that has ship girls as well, I didn't want to write two stories on the same topic because that would be kind of boring for me. However, I think this approach of 'ship girls in space' could be interesting, mainly because it's so different from anything I've written before... Well, we'll see where this goes, I guess, but hopefully it will be interesting for you as well. Thanks again for reading, and now on with the story..._

* * *

**11/26, Galactic Calendar Year 320**

**1500 hours**

**Unknown Location, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

A man dressed in a dark red military uniform sat at his seat in the bridge of his ship, a small space cruiser by the name of _Soyuz_. His unruly black hair, lightly tanned skin, and handsome features made him seem like some sort of exotic prince, but his unnatural, pale yellow eyes overshadowed any of his other features, leaving an uncomfortable feeling with those who gaze upon them. He also wore his uniform in an unorthodox manner, with his officer's coat being unzipped and only his right arm actually properly inside the coat. The rest of the uniform hung loosely off him, revealing a black t-shirt and his well-muscled left arm. At the moment, he was resting his cheek on his fist as waited around, bored. It was a routine patrol, and no other ships had been spotted in the blackness of space so far.

However, that was about to change.

"Captain Rackham, we've spotted a vessel to our starboard. She should be within visual range in a few minutes," a lieutenant reported from his position below.

The black-haired officer, Captain Rackham, sat up at that. "What sort of ship is it?"

"It appears to be a Committee cargo ship. No escorts," the lieutenant replied.

"No escorts?" Rackham's eyes lit up. "That's very good for us… But it doesn't make sense. Who sends out a cargo ship without escorts, especially in this sector?"

"Actually, sir, it seems that this cargo ship was relying on stealth technology to sail by, but it looks like it malfunctioned. They suddenly appeared in the middle of our radar out of nowhere, which is why I believe this is the case," the lieutenant said.

Rackham furrowed his brows in confusion. "That's unusual to say the least. Is Commander Bonnet here? No? Call him up to the bridge."

Before the lieutenant could start on that order, the automatic doors to the bridge slid open and a tall man with red hair and sleek glasses entered. He had cold green eyes, and his face was pretty yet sharp and unfriendly at the same time. Like Captain Rackham and the lieutenant, he also wore the dark red uniform issued to officers of the Saturn Space Fleet, though unlike the captain, he wore his properly, no signs of ruffles or dirt anywhere on his spotless shirt.

"You called for me, Captain?" Commander Bonnet, the ship's first mate, greeted as he glanced at the hologram in the center of the bridge which gave the crew an estimation of their ship's distance from the enemy vessel.

"Just in time. As you can see, it looks like we've got something today," Rackham smirked. "A good thing too. I wasn't looking forward to the lecture we were going to get from Admiral Read if we returned from our voyage empty-handed."

Commander Bonnet narrowed his eyes as he looked at the hologram in greater detail. "Just one cargo ship with no escorts? Is this a trap?"

Rackham explained what the lieutenant had told him about the stealth technology.

"Hm… That _is _strange," Bonnet agreed with his captain. "I've never heard of the Joint Galactic Committee using stealth technology, at least not for their cargo ships. Either way, I suppose that makes it easier for us. Shall I issue the surrender order?"

"Go ahead," Rackham gestured towards the main console, a monitor and a computer set up at the top of the bridge.

Bonnet went over to it and typed in a few commands, then leaned into the speaker. Though they had been speaking Russian up until now, he switched to English for his announcement. "Committee cargo ship, this is the _Soyuz_. We are hereby ordering you to surrender and give up your cargo. If you do so, your crew and ship will not be harmed. If you refuse, we will have to employ potentially lethal force. Please send your answer back within the next minute, or else we will consider you as hostile."

"These guys would have to be suicidal not to surrender. Not like they have any escorts to protect them," Rackham assumed after Bonnet finished the message.

"Indeed," Bonnet simply said.

Rackham glanced at him. "Hm? You don't sound so sure."

"I suppose, though you're well aware why that's the case, sir. If this cargo ship took the gamble of using stealth technology instead of the standard military escort, it is possible that they are carrying some precious cargo that they can't afford to lose," Bonnet explained even though he knew that Rackham already thought of all this. "The Saturn Satellite's privateers are the best in the galaxy, and cargo runs typically have a very low success rate in our sectors, even with a military escort. The fact that they didn't even bother with a military escort this time and went straight for new stealth technology may indicate that they need to transport this particular cargo at all costs."

Rackham smiled. "Yes, and if that's the case, then we've got quite the haul on our hands this time. _But _there's also the possibility that this cargo ship contains nothing, and that it's just a dummy test run for the stealth technology that they're using."

"You're right about that, sir," Bonnet admitted.

The lieutenant then interrupted their conversation. "Captain! The ship, it's fleeing!"

Rackham stood up from his chair and leaned on the railing as he looked out the big windows that gave the bridge crew a clear view into outer space. Sure enough, he could see the dark green cargo ship zipping away as fast it could, its blue burners rapidly jetting out of view.

"Should we pursue?" the lieutenant then asked, glancing around at the other bridge crew, who looked completely nonplussed by this development.

"What's your name again? Lieutenant Roberts, right?" Rackham asked. "This is your first cruise with us, but there's a reason why we always patrol from this position when we come into this sector. Check your map."

Roberts glanced at his computer screen and zoomed out of the map. There were two blips on the radar, one indicating the position of _Soyuz _and the other of the cargo ship. However, there was also a chain of small dots that created a barrier in the direction that the cargo ship was heading.

"An asteroid belt?" Roberts read. "But… That wasn't there a minute ago…"

"Because electrical interference from a nearby satellite obscured it," Rackham explained. "That satellite belongs to the Saturn colony, so usually only our ships know about it. It's why we mark the asteroid belt manually when we approach it instead of relying on our computers to do it for us."

"So this cargo ship is running straight into an asteroid belt?" Roberts surmised.

"Basically. That ship now has three options: come back the way it came and run into us, risk going through the asteroid belt, or go west, which would lead it directly into the territory of the moon Rhea, which would also mean certain death or capture for them."

"I see… So we are using a geographic barrier to entrap them," Roberts concluded.

Rackham nodded. "This is the way we always do it when we reach this area on our patrol route. Enemy cargo often comes through this sector thinking they have an easy straight route to the Jupiter colonies, but the interference from our satellite is what gives them that false impression. The satellite interference is actually a pretty easy fix, but we've purposely left it broken so we can take advantage of the enemy like this. They fall for it every time, heh."

"Now we are going to give chase," Commander Bonnet picked up where the captain had left off as the ship's automated system was put into acceleration. "Typically the enemy dashes all the way to the asteroid belt without realizing it is there, and then they freeze up in confusion, allowing us to pick them apart quite easily even though we are only one cruiser."

The _Soyuz _cut through the vast emptiness of space, speeding after the escaping cargo ship. In a matter of minutes, they came within sight of the asteroid belt. Massive rocks hurtled through the blackness, creating a sort of vortex that promised destruction to any who entered. The lone cargo ship could also be seen stopped in front of the belt.

"Well, it's not as big as the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but it does its job just fine," Rackham said with satisfaction. "All right, prepare the main guns for -"

Rackham stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the cargo ship suddenly take off at full speed into the asteroid belt.

"What the hell?! Have they lost their minds?" the captain shouted, bewildered. The rest of the crew were equally shocked. "Damn it! Main guns, fire at their thrusters! Stop them before they kill themselves!"

"_Acquiring firing solution… Complete. Target in sight. Preparing main cannons," _the automated voice of the spaceship's AI said over the comms system. "_Firing main cannons."_

A blue beam shot outwards from the _Soyuz _and tore through space in an attempt to catch up with the cargo ship. However, it was too late, and the cargo ship had already disappeared into the asteroid belt. The beam shot smashed into a small asteroid, shattering it and sending debris flying in the zero G environment.

"That was… Unexpected," Commander Bonnet managed, pushing up his glasses.

"They… They flew into the asteroid belt?" Lieutenant Roberts stated in disbelief. The other members of the bridge crew began muttering among themselves as well.

Rackham clenched his fists in frustration. "That cargo must have been so important that they would rather have completely destroyed it than let us get our hands on it."

"It appears so. What now, sir?" Bonnet asked.

Rackham sat back down. "Not much to do other than sail around to the other side of the belt and hope that they made it out. In case they didn't, let the Rhea Fleet know. They may be able to send someone over to help search through the belt."

The _Soyuz _spent the next hour or so sailing around the small asteroid belt, cutting through Rhea territory and letting the moon's fleet know what had just happened. Someone from the Rhea Fleet said they would be sending over a couple minesweepers to try and search through the asteroid field, but there was only so much that they could do.

Either way, it would take some time for those ships to be ready to sortie, so the _Soyuz _waited alone in front of the asteroid belt, Rackham and the rest of the crew watching eagerly for any sign of the cargo ship.

"Ridiculous," Rackham spat after another hour had passed. "What could have been so important that they had to destroy it and lose their own lives in the process? Now I'm even more curious."

Commander Bonnet was seated at the main console a few feet away, a cup of tea in hand. "State secrets, I suppose. More likely a secret that only the most upper levels of the Joint Galactic Committee are allowed to know about."

"... Do you think it has something to do with the Sirens?" Rackham wondered, glancing over at his first mate.

"The Sirens? We haven't seen any sign of them in two years," Bonnet frowned. "I think most people have assumed that the Sirens just got bored of tormenting our fleets after realizing that humans were no match for them, and so they sailed away to a different galaxy in search of more worthy opponents. Would the JGC leadership really be guarding information on an enemy that is no longer a threat so closely?"

"Hah, you can't tell me that you seriously believe the Sirens are gone for good?" Rackham challenged.

Bonnet took a sip of his tea. "It's not about whether I believe it, it's about what the Committee believes. Neither the Joint Galactic Committee nor our own Outer Reach seem to think that the Sirens are going to attack again anytime soon."

"That could just be because they want to avoid scaring the public. We all saw how everyone reacted when the Sirens first arrived three years ago. Aliens who possess technology far superior to ours and who have no goal but to kill all humans would frighten anybody," Rackham pointed out.

"That may be true, but if our governments' only goal was to avoid frightening the public, then why keep the fact that they believe the Sirens are going to reappear from the military, the very people who are going to be fighting when that happens?" Bonnet countered.

Rackham shrugged. "Why bother telling us? It's not like we can come up with any new tactics that will suddenly allow us to defeat them. If anybody needs to know, it's the scientists and engineers who develop our technology. The only military personnel they'd tell are high-ranking officers like Admirals and Generals, probably."

"I suppose you do have a point there, sir…" Bonnet admitted. If there was one thing that annoyed him about his captain, it was that he never seemed to be able to win these arguments against him. As much as he hated to admit it, Rackham was always a step ahead.

"Do you think the Committee is collaborating with the Sirens?" Rackham asked.

That nearly made Bonnet spit out his tea; perhaps this was one of the few times were Rackham was not, in fact, a step ahead.

"S-Sir, that's ridiculous," Bonnet sputtered, setting down his cup. "You just said it yourself: the Sirens' only goal was to wipe out humanity. They also always attacked any human fleets they could, regardless of whether those fleets belonged to the Joint Galactic Committee or the Outer Reach. Why would they ever decide to help one side over the other?"

"I don't know, but it kind of makes sense. That would explain their secrecy," Rackham crossed his arms, his yellow eyes curious.

Bonnet sighed and shook his head. "I will have to disagree with you on this one, Captain."

"Captain, look!" Lieutenant Roberts' voice interrupted them. "It's the ship!"

Sure enough, the battered JGC cargo ship slowly emerged from the asteroid belt. It was still functioning, but there were massive dents in it, and parts of it were falling off and fading away into the vacuum of space.

"Damn, it actually survived." Rackham was impressed. "By the way it's sailing, it doesn't look like it has much power available. Bonnet, contact the crew to determine if anyone is still alive. Also, check to make sure that they're not emitting any distress signals. We're much closer to Committee territory now, so there's a possibility that an enemy patrol could pick it up."

"Roger," Bonnet said before turning to the console and inputting various commands. He then began speaking into the mic, again in English. "This is the _Soyuz_. Is anyone there? Your ship is in no position to escape from us. Slowly sail over to our portside and attach your connectors. We will treat any injuries your crew may have."

About a minute passed in silence, and there was no response. The cargo ship continued to drift aimlessly, not heeding Bonnet's words at all. In fact, it looked as if no one was even in control of the ship.

"It's possible that their crew was killed. Even if they had strapped themselves in, heading into an asteroid belt like that one could cause some serious injuries," Rackham said. "All right, let's pull up next to them. We're going to board them. Also, tell Chief Kidd to prepare his raiders to head out."

The _Soyuz _maneuvered beside the cargo ship, mainly done through the ship's own AI but assisted at some points by the bridge staff. As a certified privateer vessel, the _Soyuz _was equipped with machinery that allowed it to board other ships, even when that other ship was not willing itself. A hole opened up on the _Soyuz_'s exterior and a large connector emerged from it, slowly pushing outwards until it attached to the cargo ship. A mechanism within the connector then began tearing open a hole in the cargo ship's hull, a process that went by remarkably quickly. After a few minutes, the connection was stabilized.

"All right, I'm going in. I want to see what's in there for myself," Rackham decided, standing up. "What about you, Bonnet?"

"If the enemy crew is wiped out, then it is probably safe enough. I'll accompany you," Bonnet decided.

"Okay. Lieutenant Roberts! You're the ranking officer. Take care of the ship while we're gone," Rackham told him.

"Roger that, sir," Roberts saluted from below.

Rackham and Bonnet headed out of the bridge and began walking towards the center of the ship where the connector was. The interior of the _Soyuz _had light purple flooring and walls and ceilings colored a darker shade of violet, and neon pink lights lit up the corridors. Most Outer Reach ships followed this same design pattern, though the ships from the Saturn fleets differed slightly because of the numerous Soviet propaganda posters and paintings hanging on the bulkheads throughout the ship.

Finally they arrived at a large, open room where they saw Master Chief Kidd and numerous other space marines standing around, waiting. They were geared up with tactical equipment like bulletproof vests, helmets, belts, and all the like, and they looked very different from Rackham and Bonnet, who just came in their standard officer uniforms. The marines carried sleek-looking black assault rifles with them, along with a few other things like stun grenades, knives, and gas masks hanging from their belts.

Master Chief Kidd saluted as the two officers approached. He was a tall, burly man with a clean-shaven face and sharp, gray eyes. Unlike most of his soldiers, he didn't wear a helmet, allowing his dark, unkempt hair to hang out freely.

"Sir. We're ready to move out," Kidd stated in his deep, strong voice.

Rackham saluted back. "Roger that. As you were told and as you probably saw already on one of the consoles, the enemy ship does not appear to be in any position to offer resistance, but just be prepared anyway. Let's go."

Chief Kidd and the marines led the way through the connector, advancing through the sterile white corridor until they reached the opening into the cargo ship. They raised their weapons and fanned out as they entered, searching for any signs of enemy contact.

The Committee cargo ship was small, much smaller than _Soyuz_, even, so there was not much to search. The inside of Joint Galactic Committee ships were different than Outer Reach ships, and unlike the purple-hued inside of _Soyuz_, Committee ships had white and gray interiors,

Chief Kidd grabbed one of his marines by the shoulder. "Take half the men and go right. Comb out the rest of the ship, and radio in if you run into anything. I'm going left up to the bridge."

The marine nodded and departed with half of the soldiers, leaving Kidd, Bonnet, and Rackham with the other half. Chief Kidd led the way to the bridge, stepping past shattered machinery and chunks of metal and wiring that lay on the floor due to the cargo ship's rough trip through the asteroid belt.

They did not encounter any people, but when they got to the bridge, they saw why. The small crew of the cargo ship had all gathered in the bridge, probably in a last-ditch effort to maneuver through the asteroid belt as best as they could. All of them were dead, many of them lying on the ground with twisted limbs and necks while others had their skulls or chests smashed in. Most of the consoles and machinery on the bridge had been completely destroyed.

"So they died after all. Not surprising considering they tried to get through the asteroid belt," Rackham observed, moving his hand away from the handgun on his belt.

Commander Bonnet glanced around the bridge, which was much smaller than the _Soyuz_'s. "I don't see anything here worthy of going to such lengths to protect. It looks like a normal cargo ship's bridge to me."

Rackham rubbed his chin. "Then maybe it's not in the bridge? Or could it be something digital, in which case it would have been in these smashed-up consoles?"

Chief Kidd's radio flared to life. "_Chief, we've cleared the ship. No hostiles detected, but we did find something weird. You'll want to check this out yourselves…"_

"Got it," Kidd simply replied before turning to Rackham and Bonnet. "Looks like they've found whatever it is you're looking for. Let's head over to their coordinates."

Chief Kidd led the two officers and the marines back to where the other marines had called them. They went all the way to the back of the ship, entering into a storeroom. There, they saw the marines standing around two containers, as well as a woman who was passed out on the floor. She had long, blonde hair and was dressed in a black and red military outfit, though her cap had fallen off and was lying a few feet away from her.

"What is this?" Rackham wondered aloud, blinking at the woman.

"We just found her like this, sir. We think she came out of that container over there," one of the marines said, pointing to a third large container that had tipped over.

Rackham was about to ask why she was in a container, but he stopped short when he saw that there were two other containers that still remained standing. Inside each of the containers was another woman.

Both were tall and exceptionally beautiful, just like the girl lying on the ground, but their appearances varied. The first had long, green hair, and she also wore what appeared to be a military uniform, though it was white in color. She had black tights over her long legs, and a forest green cape was slung over her shoulders. The second girl had brown hair tied in a ponytail, and she wore something more similar to a pirate's attire from the old days. Both women had their eyes closed and their arms folded over their chests, clearly in a state of hibernation.

"Androids?" Bonnet hypothesized, narrowing his eyes at the women in the containers.

"No military android I've ever seen looks like they do," Kidd said.

Rackham knelt down beside the passed-out blonde. "They're not androids. This one is breathing. However, there is the fact that they survived the ship going through the asteroid belt while the human crew didn't, so they're clearly not normal humans either. Were these women what the crew was trying to keep from us?"

Rackham knew he wouldn't get any answers from the crew, and his curiosity was even more overwhelming now. Unable to resist, he shook the blonde girl lightly, hoping it would wake her up.

The woman muttered in her sleep as Rackham shook her, but then her icy blue eyes snapped open. Disoriented, she sat up and looked around the room, then shot to her feet as she scowled at the numerous strange men surrounding her. She stumbled slightly, but she quickly recovered as she sized up the marines.

Rackham stood up as well. "Hello. You're awake now."

The woman turned her cold gaze to him, looked him over, then frowned even harder. "_Kommunistich. Bleib mir fern._"

The crew glanced at each other in confusion.

"What did she say? What language is that?" Chief Kidd wondered.

"It's German," Rackham stated. "I don't know what she just said, but I assume that first word was 'communist.' Does she know who we are?"

The woman made no reply to that, and her blue eyes began to show signs of panic as she tried to look around for an escape. Rackham picked up on this and realized that if they didn't calm her down soon, she would probably turn hostile.

"Maybe she doesn't understand Russian," he guessed. "I don't suppose anyone here speaks German?"

The marines all shook their heads.

_Well, fuck. English it is, then. _"Er… Hello, comrade. How are you? My name is Jack Rackham."

He spoke with a slight Russian accent, but apparently the woman understood him because her harsh gaze softened a bit. "... Hello. I am Bismarck. Where is this place? Are we in the Soviet Union? What is going on?"

She also spoke with a German accent, but Rackham was glad to see that they could actually communicate now. "This isn't the USSR. We are in the space of the Soviet Satellites of Saturn. As I said, I'm Captain Rackham, and this is my crew. We found you passed out on the floor of this Committee cargo ship."

Bismarck looked supremely confused, and the untrusting scowl returned to her face. "Excuse me? I don't understand. You said we are in the Soviet, but this is not the Soviet Union? What is it, then? And what am I doing aboard a cargo ship?"

Rackham could see that she was beginning to regress into her panicked state. "Well, what is most important is that we are not your enemy, Bismarck. Do you know what year it is, at least?"

Bismarck paused, her eyes now showing some recognition. "... Right. This is no longer the period known as 'World War II.' This is the year 320 of the Galactic Calendar."

"That's correct…" Rackham confirmed, though he had no idea why she just mentioned World War II. That happened almost two thousand years ago.

"If I remember correctly, there are two warring factions in this time period: the Joint Galactic Committee and the Outer Reach. One of the factions of the Outer Reach is based around the planet Saturn. That is where you are from?" Bismarck asked.

"Yes," Rackham answered, though now he was the one who was getting confused.

Bismarck looked thoughtful. "Hm. I wasn't aware that the Saturn colonies were so similar to the Soviet Union. My apologies. Your attire and the Russian you spoke made me believe you were in fact Russians."

"No, the Soviet Satellites of Saturn don't have anything to do with Russia back on Earth, other than the fact that we have adopted the Soviet system from their past," Rackham explained. "Where are you from, Bismarck? Are you from Germany? What are you doing on this cargo ship?"

"I am from Germany, yes. As for what I am doing on this ship… I do not know. In addition to my own memories from back in the War, I can tell that my Wisdom Cube has been supplemented with some contemporary knowledge, such as the fact that humans have now colonized outer space and the history of what happened during and after World War II. I also know about the state of the war between the Joint Galactic Committee and the Outer Reach, and I know about the existence of the strange beings called 'Sirens.' Aside from that, I do not know anything else about my situation," Bismarck said.

"If I may, sir," Commander Bonnet interjected in Russian, and Rackham nodded to him. Bonnet then faced Bismarck and switched to English. "Miss Bismarck, I am Commander Stede Bonnet. Why do you keep bringing up World War II? That war ended two thousand years ago. What relevance does it have here?"

"I suppose I forgot to mention that, yes," Bismarck realized. "I am the battleship Bismarck of the Kriegsmarine. I was sunk in the year 1941 where I remained at the bottom of the Atlantic until recently, when my Wisdom Cube was recovered and I manifested this body."

The crew stared at her dumbly.

"... Did you just say you are a battleship?" Rackham asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I am the KMS Bismarck," Bismarck replied in a tone that made it seem as if it he were an idiot for not understanding. "As I said, my Wisdom Cube has now manifested in this body, which is why I appear as a human."

_Is this some sort of joke? _"And are you not questioning how a battleship suddenly became a young woman?"

Bismarck seemed unbothered by that. "No. My soul is the same as it was back then, but now I simply have the mind and body of a human. How that happened is none of my concern, nor was it programmed into my Wisdom Cube, so I have no way of knowing the answer regardless. All I know about my purpose in this form is that I have a new enemy to fight: those known as the Sirens."

The marines began talking among themselves excitedly at that declaration, and Rackham was too engrossed in what Bismarck was saying to tell them to quiet down. "Wait, what? You were built to fight the Sirens?"

"No, I was built to defend the Fatherland. This is simply my current mission," Bismarck replied, annoyed.

"And who gave you that mission?" Bonnet asked.

"That I don't know," Bismarck admitted. "I just know that it is my duty at the moment. Since you said I am aboard a 'Committee cargo ship,' I assume it is the Joint Galactic Committee who found my Wisdom Cube."

"What's a Wisdom Cube?" Rackham questioned.

"It is the core of my body and it contains my warship soul," Bismarck simply said.

That answer did not satisfy Rackham at all, but it was clear that Bismarck either didn't know anymore than that or that she didn't feel like sharing.

The captain pointed to the other two women in the containers. "Do you know them?"

Bismarck turned to look. "Littorio and Jean Bart. Though I did not know them personally, I know they were battleships of the Regia Marina and the French navy. Did they also come here with me? Are they asleep?"

"How should we know? We just found you lying on the floor when we got here," Rackham told her. "So you're all battleships, is that what you're saying?"

"Is it that hard to believe? Surely it can't be more ridiculous than the concept of humans living in outer space," Bismarck shot back.

Rackham actually did think it was a lot more ridiculous, but there was no point in arguing. Instead, he turned to Master Chief Kidd and the marines. "Can you get those containers open?"

"We can try," Kidd shrugged as he headed over the containers with the marines.

Rackham watched Bismarck as the marines pried at the containers, curious as to how she would react. To his surprise, she seemed to want to know what would happen once those containers were opened as well, and she made no move to stop them.

The containers opened rather easily, either having been weakened by the rocking and smacking of the ship in the asteroid belt or because they were built that way in the first place. When the glass door to Littorio's container opened, the green-haired woman tumbled out, falling over and landing almost on her face. Rackham thought that maybe she was passed out like Bismarck had been, but Littorio quickly recovered and stood up, blinking as she took in her surroundings.

"_Hm? Che posto e questo?_" Littorio asked, glancing around.

"Hello. Do you speak English?" Rackham asked her as the marines got started on the other container, though some of them lagged behind as they gawked at her.

"Yes, I do. Who are you? You're cute," she smiled at him. She was tall for a woman, and with her high-heeled boots, she was just as tall as Rackham, who himself was about six feet in height.

"Oh? Thank you," Rackham replied, grinning at the unexpected complement. He held out his hand. "I am Captain Rackham of the Soviet Satellites of Saturn. It is nice to meet you, Littorio."

"The pleasure is all mine." She took his hand and kissed it.

"It seems this one is quite strange," Bonnet noted with a frown, making sure to say that comment in Russian.

Littorio then turned her gaze to Bismarck. "Ah, and you must be the famed Bismarck. You are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined."

Bismarck looked unamused. "Is that so? I just hope you are not as useless as your country was during the War."

"What stinging words! But I suppose even the prettiest of roses have thorns," Littorio smirked at her.

Rackham watched them with a mixture of fascination, unable to believe that these were actually World War II-era battleships like Bismarck had said.

The final container was opened. Unlike Littorio, the woman (or battleship) known as Jean Bart remained in her container, then slowly reached out a hand, grasped the side of her container, and pulled herself out. She held a hand to her forehead as if she were having a headache, squinting as she looked around the room and tried to figure out what was going on.

Rackham quickly made his way over. "Hello, Jean Bart. I am Captain Rackham. Do you know where you are?"

Jean Bart regarded him warily with her blood red eyes but ignored his question. She turned to watch Bismarck and Littorio, who were still chatting with each other, much to Bismarck's chagrin.

"Maybe she's mute," Chief Kidd suggested in English to Rackham after Jean Bart didn't speak.

The French ship glared at him. "I am no mute. I simply have nothing to say to the likes of you."

"'The likes of you'? Do you even know who we are?" Rackham asked.

"... I suppose you are the ones who commissioned me to fight these 'Sirens'?" Jean Bart guessed. "If the enemy is here, then I will fight. Otherwise, I have no interest in speaking with you."

"All right, then," Rackham threw his hands up, amused. He didn't bother telling her that they were not actually the ones who built her.

The phone in Rackham's pocket buzzed. He took it out and answered it. "Hello? Lieutenant?"

"_Sir, the minesweepers from the Rhea Fleet have arrived. They are requesting to speak with you," _Lieutenant Roberts informed him over the phone.

"Okay. I'll be back on the ship soon."

He hung up the phone and turned to his crew, speaking in English so that the battleship girls could understand as well. "All right, everyone. It seems our work here is done, so we're heading back to the _Soyuz_. Let's escort our new guests back, and then we will figure out what to do from there."

The group began heading back to the connector, with the ship girls following without any complaints. It seemed that they had no issues in working with Outer Reach personnel even though it looked like they had been constructed by the Joint Galactic Committee.

Rackham still didn't know exactly what they were… They looked and acted more human than any android he had ever seen, but the things Bismarck said about Wisdom Cubes and how she was a World War II battleship were not at all things that a human would ever say, at least not a mentally-sound human. There was also the fact that the JGC seemed to want to guard these girls closely and avoid letting them fall in enemy hands at all costs, and that made him think that they were in fact some type of weapon. Given that they said their purpose was to fight the Sirens, their being weapons or special soldiers was the most likely possibility.

Rackham walked behind the ship girls, watching them closely with his yellow eyes. _Well, whatever they are, I think things are about to get a lot more interesting…_


	2. Big Bang II

_A/N: In honor of the anime's release (though I'm two days late), here is Chapter Two. Thanks for reading._

* * *

**11/26, GCY 320**

**1900 hours**

**Rhea Colony, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

Captain Rackham stood with his hands on his hips, looking out the window amidships as the _Soyuz _sailed in towards the Rhea colony. With a hint of curiosity in his odd yellow eyes, he glanced at Bismarck, who was standing next to him and staring out the window as well.

"Well? How is it? This is your first time seeing a space colony, right?" Rackham asked her.

As usual, his officer's coat hung lazily off his body, with only half of it actually put on correctly. The few crew members who passed by paid no mind to this strange way of dressing since they were mostly used to it by now, but they did stop and stare at Bismarck, whose entire appearance was a jarring change from the regular atmosphere on the _Soyuz_. It wasn't often that a outlandishly-dressed, tall, beautiful woman came aboard, let alone three of them at once.

Bismarck frowned as she tried to answer Rackham's question. "I don't know what to say. It doesn't look real."

Instead of the usual blackness of outer space, a large celestial body was now taking up most of the view outside the ship. This was Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon, and in fact, the gas planet itself could be seen in the distance too. Though Rhea's surface used to be a cold, rocky place devoid of life when it was first discovered, it was now alight with the numerous cities that humans had built, turning the once-desolate moon into a beacon of civilization in the vast dark sea of space.

Though Rhea was one of the largest and most bustling satellites in the Outer Reach, the _Soyuz _was not heading there at the moment. Instead, the space cruiser was sailing towards a much smaller satellite that was orbiting Rhea itself. This satellite was completely man-made, and as a result, it appeared as a metallic gray sphere from afar.

"That's the moon, Rhea, I was telling you about," Rackham informed Bismarck nodding towards the large sphere. "Unfortunately we won't be going there, though. We're heading to this other satellite, which is the headquarters of the Rhea Fleet. I'm sure my commanding officers want to meet you as soon as possible."

"I see. Your commanding officers - are they communists as well?" Bismarck asked, her expression souring.

With his basic knowledge of WWII, Rackham already knew that Bismarck wouldn't like his answer. "Well, yes, but they have nothing to do with the Soviets from your time."

"I don't care. Anyone trying to emulate those beasts cannot be sound of mind," Bismarck scowled.

_Should a Nazi of all people really be making those comments? _Rackham figured it would upset her greatly if he mentioned that aloud, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and they turned to see Commander Bonnet returning with Littorio and Jean Bart beside him.

"Sir. We've finished our tour of the ship," Bonnet reported.

"What did you two think?" Rackham asked the two ship girls.

"It was very interesting, much different from the ships I am used to seeing. It looks a lot more comfortable!" Littorio said.

Jean Bart was less impressed. "That much should be expected since humans have had 2000 years to improve their ship building designs."

"You should have gone with them, Bismarck. Could have been interesting, no?" Rackham told the blonde.

Bismarck turned back to the window. "I find the view into space much more compelling. It is still hard to believe that we are no longer on Earth."

"Really? I guess I can't understand that since humans have been colonizing the galaxy since before I was born," Rackham replied. _If these girls actually are from the World War II period, then the current state of affairs would definitely be hard to adjust to._

"So you weren't born on Earth, Captain?" Littorio asked, curious.

"Nope. I was born on Titan, which is Saturn's largest moon. Bonnet, you're from there too, right?"

"That's correct, sir," Bonnet answered.

Rackham nodded. "The fleet we're a part of is actually based in Titan, so normally we would head into port there and make our report to Admiral Read, the commanding officer of the Titan Fleet. But since we called over those minesweepers from the Rhea Fleet, we're pretty much forced to stop here first."

The _Soyuz _spent the next half hour or so sailing into the docks on the large military satellite that orbited around Rhea. As this was a military installation, the docks were a deep gray color with no ships around aside from military spacecraft. A handler from inside the docks took in the _Soyuz_'s information over the radio comms and guided them in, allowing them to anchor next to a large dark purple battleship.

Rackham stepped out of the ship and into the docks, making sure to keep the ship girls close to him.

"Hm, this place doesn't look too different from normal docks," Jean Bart observed.

"Other than the fact that there's no water around, yes," Littorio laughed.

Bonnet came up beside Rackham. "Sir. It seems these women are attracting a lot of attention to themselves. It's best that we proceed to the admiral's office immediately."

"Yeah, sounds good," Rackham agreed. He had a feeling that the military wouldn't want everyone knowing about the existence of these ship girls, and there were plenty of people already gawking at them and whispering to each other.

Rackham led the ship girls towards the admiral's office with Bonnet bringing up the rear, almost as if they were escorting a group of prisoners. The ship girls themselves seemed to be too busy with staring at the facility to ask where they were going or what would happen to them. Rackham didn't understand what they found so interesting about it, especially since this was just a boring military satellite made out of cold, gray steel. Maybe it was the prospect of their being on a station that was floating in space that kept them entranced.

They eventually arrived at a door that was being guarded by two space marines.

"ID, sir?" one of the marines asked.

Rackham reached into his pocket and pulled his ID card from his wallet. He handed it to the marine, who scanned it through a small keypad by the door. A second later, the keypad blinked green, and the marine handed the card back to Rackham.

"Cleared, Captain. Admiral Teach is awaiting you," the marine saluted and stepped aside.

Rackham and Bonnet entered along with the three ship girls, not knowing what the admiral's reaction to all this would be. Admiral Teach's office was fairly spacious, and there was a plush, red carpet covering the wooden flooring. A large propaganda poster depicting a smiling sailor was plastered on the right side wall, and a map of the solar system was hanging on the left wall. The admiral's mahogany desk was in the back of the room, and Admiral Teach looked up from the report he was reading when his visitors came in.

Admiral Teach was a tall, burly man with black hair and a thick beard, and his golden-brown eyes flashed with curiosity upon seeing the ship girls. Among the admirals of the Outer Reach, he had a reputation of being the most ruthless and also the most unruly. In fact, it was Admiral Teach who came up with the idea of instituting privateer fleets like Rackham's into the military.

Rackham and Bonnet saluted the admiral, and the ship girls stood silently, not sure what they were supposed to do.

Admiral Teach returned their salute. "Good evening Captain Rackham, Commander Bonnet. I see you weren't joking on the report you sent. You really did bring along three strangely-dressed women."

"Yes, sir. As I said in the report, they claim to be 'ship girls,'" Rackham told him. They were all speaking English now instead of their native Russian so that the ship girls could follow the conversation. "Does this make any sense to you, sir? I've never heard of anything like it."

Teach grinned, displaying a row of bright white teeth that contrasted with his dark beard. "Actually, yes, it does make sense to me. This was known only among the admiralty up until now, but we had heard rumors of a secret project started by the Committee which involved the use of World War II warships, but we didn't know much more than that. I guess this is our answer!"

The attention in the room shifted to the three ship girls, though none of them spoke since they didn't know what they were even expected to say to that.

"So we have here Bismarck, Littorio, and Jean Bart, correct?" Admiral Teach read off the paper report on his desk.

"Yes, sir," Rackham confirmed. "They -"

"I want them to speak for themselves," Teach interrupted. "They can do that, right?

The three ship girls looked at each other before Bismarck spoke.

"I am the KMS Bismarck. To my right is Littorio, and then Jean Bart."

"Hm, so you say," Admiral Teach pulled on his black beard. "And you three are androids?"

"Androids?" Bismarck looked confused. "Do you mean robots? I am afraid I am not too familiar, sir. Regardless, that is not what we are. We have human bodies but warship souls."

Rackham had pretty much heard this earlier, but he still didn't understand it. By the look on Teach's face, he didn't either.

"I don't know what the fuck that means, but if you lot really aren't androids, then our assumptions about what the Committee was doing were wrong," Teach took off his cap and scratched his head.

"Sir, if I may interrupt," Rackham interjected, "what are we going to do with them? They say their primary purpose is to fight the Sirens."

"The Sirens?" Teach raised an eyebrow. "The Sirens, not us? Interesting. No wonder they don't seem to be hostile."

Littorio suddenly yawned. "This place is boring. Can we leave?"

"Yes, this seems to be a waste of my time. Are we going to fight or not?" Jean Bart agreed, her expression sour.

"Hahaha! Well, you girls certainly are straightforward!" Teach was amused. "Sorry to disappoint you, but the Sirens have been gone for years. The war between the Committee and our forces is still in full swing, though. Will you fight for us?"

"_Si_, why not? I don't have anything better to do," Littorio readily agreed with a smile.

Jean Bart sent her a look. "You realize they are asking you to fight against other humans, not Sirens."

"So? We did that back in the War anyway," Littorio shrugged. "As long as I don't have to fight against Italy itself, then I don't have a problem with it."

"Earth is the only neutral planet in this war, so that won't be an issue. At most you'll have to sometimes fight against people of Italian descent, but we have plenty of those in the Outer Reach too," Rackham informed her.

"Wait. This is not what we were contracted for," Bismarck stopped them, a stern, unsatisfied look on her face.

"'Contracted'? What, is someone going to punish you for fighting against Committee forces?" Admiral Teach countered.

"No, but -"

"Then it's fine, isn't it?" Teach interrupted with a mischievous smile. "Actually, now that you're in our hands, it would be better for you if you just followed the Outer Reach's orders. Things will go much more smoothly for you that way."

Jean Bart narrowed her eyes. "Is that a threat?"

"Just a little reminder for you to understand what your situation is. Hahahah!" Teach laughed. "All right, it is settled! You three ship girls or whatever are now part of the Outer Reach Fleet!"

"Excuse me, but what exactly is their role? How do they fight?" Commander Bonnet brought up the obvious question.

Teach began stroking his beard again, a perplexed look on his face. "Hm, yes, that is an issue… Any of you girls care to answer that?"

"Our Wisdom Cubes allow us to integrate with your space warships' artificial intelligence systems. We can then take control of all the functions of that vessel," Bismarck told him. "However, the class of the warship must match our own class, and so the three of us can only integrate with battleship platforms."

"That's it? So you're just AI systems," Rackham summed up simply.

Bismarck glared at him. "Our Wisdom Cubes allow for much more efficient optimization than your traditional artificial intelligence systems that you use on your warships. A ship's cannons, engines, radar, shielding, damage control, and virtually every other system are much more potent when we integrate with the platform. In simulations, a ship girl in control has always outperformed a traditional ship's AI."

"Is that so? And how do you know that?" Rackham questioned.

"It was programmed into our Wisdom Cubes, presumably by the engineers who did the testing prior to our full activation. Unfortunately I don't have the actual test results available, but I can prove the truth in my words through combat," Bismarck assured him confidently.

_Good, seems she's willing to fight now, _Rackham smiled to himself, glad that his words had succeeded in convincing her to fight for them.

"There is one more thing you should know," Bismarck continued. "The reason why we were primarily made to fight the Sirens is because of our master program that we run when we integrate with the spaceship's system. It is called Azur Lane."

"Azur Lane? What does that mean?" Admiral Teach wondered.

"It is a system inherent to our Wisdom Cubes and was not programmed into us by humans. It allows our cannons to do up to 50% more damage to the shields of Siren warships than your traditional spaceships can do," Bismarck said.

Admiral Teach's eyes widened. "What?! So you're saying you can actually penetrate their shielding?"

Bismarck's icy eyes were firm. "As I said, fighting Sirens is our purpose."

"That's no exaggeration, then. Our regular ships do less than half as much damage to Siren shields as they do to other human-made spaceship shields," Rackham brought up for comparison's sake. "If your Azur Lane program compensates for that, then you have nullified the Sirens' greatest strength…"

"Does it work on human-made ships?" Teach asked excitedly, leaning forward.

"Azur Lane is meant to combat the Sirens, so no," Bismarck denied. "We must use conventional weapons if the need arises to combat human spaceships."

"Bah, a bummer," Teach deflated. "Nevertheless, you girls have convinced me! I want to see you in action right away!"

Admiral Teach then turned to Rackham. "Captain, you've heard of the tidings from Enceladus, right? You're from the Titan Fleet, after all.

"The Ice Moon? I heard there was an insurrection of some sort," Rackham said.

Teach nodded. "Indeed. A splinter faction of the Titan Fleet has broken off and taken refuge on Enceladus, and their goal is to defect to the Joint Galactic Committee. They call themselves the White Forces, and though their fleet is nowhere near big enough to cause concern, they're still an eyesore. A battlegroup from the Titan Fleet recently departed to eliminate them, and I want you and these ship girls to accompany them. Let's find out what these girls can really do."

"Don't they need battleships to function? I only have one light cruiser," Rackham pointed out, glancing at the three ship girls.

"I can only spare one battleship, especially for a test like this, but it'll have to do. I'll put in the orders right now and let the fleet know that you will be joining them," Admiral Teach said.

"Understood, sir. We'll prepare to leave today, then," Rackham decided.

Teach grinned. "Good! And excellent job on finding these ship girls, Captain. I knew creating a pirate fleet for commerce raiding was a good decision! I will contact you when the preparations are done, and I will be watching this battle with great interest. You are dismissed."

Rakham and Bonnet saluted the admiral and began walking back to the ship with the ship girls.

"You are pirates?" Jean Bart asked Rackham, for the first time not sounding disinterested and hostile.

"Well… Technically we're privateers since we're government-sponsored, but I guess to some there's not much difference," Rackham replied. "Did you fight pirates back in World War II or something?"

"I am named after a privateer," Jean Bart simply said.

"Really? That's interesting. They actually named a battleship after a pirate," Rackham mused.

"Is that more or less strange than parents naming their child after a pirate?" Jean Bart asked flatly.

"Huh?"

"Forget it," Jean Bart sighed.

The group returned to the _Soyuz_, where they found Master Chief Kidd smoking a cigarette outside on the docks.

"Captain, I see you've returned. What are our orders?" Kidd asked.

"We're being sent to assist the fleet taking on the rebels on Enceladus," Rackham told him. He left out the stuff about the ship girls since he didn't feel like recounting all of it at the moment.

"Oh? Sounds interesting," Kidd decided, putting out his cigarette and tossing it into a nearby trash can. "So, low-orbit combat?"

"Probably," Rackham nodded.

He figured the White Forces wouldn't take to outer space for this battle, and that they would be fighting within the confines of Enceladus' atmosphere. Given that the rebels had much fewer ships, it would be easier for them to fight in the relatively 'cramped' atmosphere rather than in outer space, because in space, the Titan Fleet could easily outmaneuver and overwhelm them. These space warships were optimized for space travel, and as a result, they tended to be faster and could fire farther while in space. A low-orbit battle would give the White Forces a better chance at survival by decreasing the distance the fleets would be fighting at and allowing their ships to act as a cohesive, compact unit.

"As usual, once their fleet is destroyed, we will be landing and raiding their headquarters for any supplies, so that's where you come in," Captain Rackham added. "For now we're on standby until the preparations are complete, though."

"Right… And them?" Chief Kidd cast a glance at the ship girls.

"They'll be coming with us. Apparently they can fight."

* * *

**11/28, GCY 320**

**1100 hours**

**Enceladus Colony, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

"That's Enceladus," Rackham pointed out the window to the large, white sphere in the distance.

"It looks like a giant ball of ice," Littorio noted.

"It pretty much is. The surface is almost entirely made up of ice and snow," Rackham informed them.

"How do humans even live there? Surely it's cold?" Jean Bart wondered, staring at the moon with a frown.

"But humans are perfectly capable of living in cold places. That's true even on Earth," Littorio said.

"Yep. However, the original temperature on Enceladus was around -200 degrees Celsius," Rackham smirked.

Both Littorio and Jean Bart looked shocked.

"What? That's impossible, isn't it?" Jean Bart didn't believe it.

"I mean… We're in outer space right now. It's probably colder just outside," Rackham knocked on the glass. "Humans can live anywhere with the right technology and the right tools, and Enceladus is no different. I don't know if this is going to make sense to you, but humanity has mastered the art of terraforming, and we can live quite easily on planets that used to be uninhabitable. The entire atmosphere of Enceladus has been enhanced, making it livable for humans. The surface temperature of the moon has also been increased, and now it's up to -30 degrees Celsius… Not really comfortable, but it'd take too much energy to get it far past that."

"Oho, that is very interesting! Humanity has advanced quite a bit!" Littorio said with a smile.

"Yeah. Anyway, when we land, we're going to need to change into different clothes, obviously. For now, though…"

The _Soyuz _continued to descend towards the icy moon. Going along with the _Soyuz _were several other spaceships: five destroyers, three other light cruisers, an aircraft carrier, and two battleships. One of those battleships was the _Sputnik_, and this was the one that Admiral Teach had sent over. Presently, Bismarck was aboard the _Sputnik_, and she would take control of the ship once they entered into battle.

_Hm, I wonder how she's doing, _Rackham thought. "I'm going back to the bridge to check on Bismarck. You two are free to do whatever, just be back on the bridge in fifteen minutes."

Most of the _Soyuz_'s crew had gotten used to the ship girls now, though they still didn't know exactly what they were doing on the ship. And though they were all pirates, they were remarkably polite to the ship girls and usually kept their distance. After all, they had grown up in the Soviet Satellites of Saturn, and though Admiral Teach and the pirate fleet were an exception, they were used to the imposing authority of the state weighing down on their everyday lives, and like the USSR of old, the government of Saturn liked to throw miscreants into the gulag or make them 'disappear' if necessary.

Passing by a portrait of Vladimir Lenin above the doorway and entering the bridge, Rackham saw Commander Bonnet down on the floor with the rest of the bridge staff. He and Lieutenant Roberts were busy discussing something on one of the holograms which depicted the _Soyuz_'s position in space. They looked up when Rackham arrived.

"Sir, we will be entering the atmosphere in approximately twenty minutes. Also, Rear Admiral Vane would like to speak with you at some point before then," Bonnet told him.

"All right, got it," Rackham acknowledged before heading over to the main console up where his seat was.

He tapped a few commands on the touch screen and got into contact with the _Sputnik_.

"_Hello? Captain Rackham?" _a woman with short blonde hair and oak-wood brown eyes appeared on the screen.

"Captain Stortebeker, hello. I am just checking in on Bismarck. Can I speak to her?" Rackham asked.

"_Yes, wait here."_

A minute passed before Bismarck appeared on the screen. "_Captain Rackham. You wished to speak to me?"_

"Yes. Any problems so far?" he asked, now switching to English.

"Nein_, though it seems most of the crew is wondering what I am doing aboard their ship. Other than that, I don't think I will have any problems in integrating my Wisdom Cube with this vessel."_

"I suppose it would be weird to have an oddly-dressed German woman suddenly board your ship," Rackham smiled slightly, remembering when he first saw Bismarck. "Captain Stortebeker knows the full details of why you are there. What did she tell her crew?"

"_She told them that I am here to assist with the ship's AI. I suppose that wasn't a very detailed explanation," _Bismarck frowned.

"True. Maybe she was told to keep the ship girls a secret? Though that's not going to last for much longer anyway," Rackham offered. "Anyway, if there are no problems, then all is good. I will let you know when it's time."

"_Roger that."_

Rackham ended the transmission, then inputted another set of commands to make a call to a different ship. A few seconds later, a man with long, black hair and dark eyes answered. He had black stubble on his face and wore an unhappy expression.

"_Captain Rackham, good afternoon," _Rear Admiral Vane greeted in his deep voice. "_You've received the battle plan data, correct? You joined this fleet rather late, so I didn't have a chance to discuss it with you in person."_

"Yes, sir. I've got it all down," Rackham answered.

Rear Admiral Vane had sent him an online package earlier that detailed the plan of attack for this mission, as well as the composition of the enemy fleet. All in all, the White Forces looked to be at a disadvantage: they only had three destroyers, two light cruisers, and a single aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral Vane's strategy was to simply form a semicircle around the White Forces and destroy them with superior numbers, which was simple enough.

_As long as the White Forces don't try anything weird, a basic strategy like this is sufficient_, Rackham figured.

"_Your ship and that battleship you brought with you are stationed on the right flank. Just keep to the formation and this battle should go smoothly," _Vane said before disconnecting.

_Always a man of few words, _Rackham thought. Better than an overbearing superior, at least.

Twenty minutes passed, and the _Soyuz _and the rest of the fleet entered into Enceldaus' atmosphere. After a few more minutes, the surface of the moon came into view. Snow and ice covered most of the ground, though there were spots where humans had broken through the ice and created artificial rivers. The fleet could see a sprawling metropolis in the distance as well.

"A city? So humans really do live here," Jean Bart said as she looked on from the bridge.

"What, didn't believe me? Of course they do," Rackham nodded. "However, all the moons aside from Titan typically have very few cities, so most of the surface is uninhabited. This is one of the few cities on Enceladus, and it's where our enemy had made their headquarters."

"Is that them over there?" Littorio pointed towards the front bridge windows.

Sure enough, a fleet of spaceships was assembled in the distance, hovering in the white sky like dark phantoms. Since they were Outer Reach ships, they had the same purple appearance as the _Soyuz _and the rest of the vessels in the attacking fleet.

The enemy aircraft carrier loomed behind its escorts. Unlike their water-based cousins, these aircraft carriers did not feature runways, though they were still bigger and longer than most other ships in the fleet. Instead, they had large underbellies that contained the aircraft, and there were openings underneath the ship that could launch the planes without use of a runway or catapult to aid in propulsion.

The Titan Fleet sailed in a perfect semicircle formation as it approached the enemy. The White Forces had simply formed up in a horizontal line with the aircraft carrier behind them, presumably to give it the most protection.

Rear Admiral Vane's voice sounded from the main console, choosing to communicate through voice chat only this time.

"_Attention White Forces, this is the Titan Fleet. This is your final chance to surrender," _Vane announced.

A moment passed without a reply before an impassioned man sent back a response. "_Never! The Outer Reach is completely devoid of freedom and democratic principles, and so we have decided to aid the Joint Galactic Committee instead! The Saturn Satellites are the worst offenders as well, and we refuse to go back to that way of life! We will never surrender!"_

The connection then cut off, and Rackham saw the communications channel switch from the open channel to the line used only to communicate with the captains of each ship.

"_As you just heard, the enemy has refused to surrender," _Rear Admiral Vane stated. "_We will be commencing our attack now, so stay in formation and do not fire until I give the order. Glory to the Soviet Satellites."_

"Glory to the Soviet Satellites," Rackham replied back along with the rest of the captains, indicating that his ship was prepared for battle.

_All right, now that we got that over with… _Rackham switched the channel over to the _Sputnik_'s comms. "Hello? Is Bismarck there?"

"Hallo_, sir. I am here," _Bismarck's voice replied back.

"Okay, it's time. Show me what you can do."

"Jawohl_."_

Rackham took a seat in the captain's chair with Littorio and Jean Bart standing next to him. Commander Bonnet also made his way back up.

"Bismarck is in control now?" Bonnet asked, glancing out the starboard side windows on the bridge to watch the _Sputnik _sail beside them.

Rackham nodded. "Yes, I guess now we will -"

His sentence was stopped short when he saw the _Sputnik_'s main guns fire. The two plasma beams shot forward through the icy air, beams of bright blue piercing straight towards the enemy fleet.

"What the…! _Blyad_, did I forget to tell her to hold her fire?" Rackham stood up, wincing at his mistake.

All he could do now was watch the twin beams fly towards the White Forces. At this distance, there was no chance of the shots hitting, especially since they were facing some rather mobile destroyers and light cruisers who could easily evade.

However, Rackham then noticed that the beams were moving at an abnormally high speed. He could see one of the enemy destroyers trying to sail away from the beams' trajectory in the distance, but a split-second later, the beam smashed right into it anyway, blowing it up in a brilliant pinkish-purple flash.

"She hit it from this distance?" Bonnet's jaw dropped, equally amazed as Rackham was.

"How? Has she really optimized the firing solution, cannon angle, and fuel efficiency this much?" Rackham wondered, trying to figure out how she got the battleship's beam to fire at such speed and accuracy.

As they were speaking, Bismarck fired off another shot. The guns from the battleship sounded again as two more twin beams shot outward towards the enemy fleet. The White Forces were in disarray, most likely wondering how the battleship had managed to hit them from that distance. But that just made them easier pickings, and Bismarck destroyed a second destroyer with similar ease.

"She's got two already?!" Rackham was bewildered.

Just as he finished that sentence, a third salvo from the battleship smashed a hole into the final enemy destroyer and went right through it to hit the light cruiser that had lined up behind it in the chaos. Both ships blew up shortly after, creating more bright pink fireworks in the pale white sky of Enceladus.

The final enemy light cruiser looked unsure of what to do after watching four ships go down in less than a minute. Bismarck was evidently aware of this, and she had fired her plasma cannon this time. This cannon launched a large, slow-moving ball of energy towards the opposing ship, though this was mainly meant to take out enemy battleships and carriers since it was very powerful but also very slow, meaning destroyers and cruisers could easily evade it.

The light cruiser did try and dodge it, but before it even made a move, Bismarck had fired her main guns once more, shooting the twin beams again. The enemy light cruiser moved to avoid the plasma cannon but sailed right into the beams, and like the others, it exploded in a magnificent flash as well. Bismarck had used the plasma cannon shot as a feint to lure the light cruiser right into the path of her main guns.

"_Hostile escorts destroyed. My guns need a short period to cool," _Bismarck said over the main console, though everyone aboard the _Soyuz _was too stunned to make any attempt to respond to that.

Lieutenant Roberts was the first to speak. "D-Did that battleship just destroy five other ships in two minutes?"

Rackham grinned. "_Khorosho_! That was amazing!"

"It wasn't _that _special," Jean Bart crossed her arms. She and Littorio were probably the only two people on the bridge who weren't completely awestruck.

"_What the hell just happened?" _Rear Admiral Vane asked over the comms. Though he was normally reserved and somber, even he was sounding utterly shocked now. "_Did the _Sputnik _just destroy all those ships by itself? Captain Stortebeker, just what sort of training do you do with your crew?!"_

"_... Ah, uh, Rear Admiral, that wasn't me," _Captain Stortebeker got on the comms. "_Er, Captain Rackham? Would you care to explain?"_

"Yes, this is supposed to happen. Admiral Teach has the full details, and I would explain it now if we had the time, but it seems like the enemy carrier is launching its planes," Rackham informed them.

The final ship in the White Forces fleet had indeed launched her planes. Unmanned attack drones shot out from underneath the carrier. They were sleek, black planes shaped like fighter jets, and they were armed with guns, cannons, and bombs that could do severe damage to enemy ships, especially smaller, less-armored ones.

"_Indeed. We will continue this discussion later, but for now, we will launch our own planes in response. Our fleet will continue advancing until we are in range, but if the _Sputnik _can fire again, please do so," _Rear Admiral Vane ordered, his voice regaining its usual calm.

The carrier in the Titan fleet launched its own planes to meet the enemy carriers' halfway. Both the enemy and friendly drones functioned using a similar operating system, so in this scenario where they were fighting each other head-on, the battle would be fairly even. Rackham assumed that Vane had ordered the planes to launch just to buy the fleet time so it could get closer to the carrier and destroy it with their combined firepower. In an even matchup like this, the drones would be able to hold out for a bit and at least reduce the enemy's airpower to around 50%.

But that is not what happened. To everyone's shock once more, the enemy drones zigzagged and maneuvered in ways that had never been seen from these types of planes before, and they completely evaded all of the Titan Fleet's drone's guns and missiles. The enemy carrier planes destroyed all fifteen planes that the Titan Fleet carrier had launched, and the enemy carrier only lost one drone in the process.

"Impossible. They should be evenly matched," Bonnet frowned, adjusting his glasses as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Move to starboard!" Rackham immediately ordered.

_Soyuz_'s automated system and the bridge crew heard him and worked together to sail the ship to the right and bring it closer to the _Sputnik_. Space battleships tended to have a better and bigger anti-air armament than light cruisers, and so Rackham wanted to take advantage of that by moving closer to the _Sputnik_.

_And if Bismarck is in command, maybe she can do even better, _Rackham thought. After what he had just seen from Bismarck, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the blonde German could do anti-air better than a traditional ship's AI could.

The enemy planes came rushing at the Titan Fleet. A destroyer was hit by one of the plane's bombs, causing it to catch fire and start emitting steam.

"_What the fuck! They hit the weakest point in our armor on their first try!" _someone yelled over the comms, presumably the captain of that destroyer.

Seconds later, the destroyer blew up, throwing flaming debris into the air. Luckily they weren't in space right now, and so the debris fell victim to the laws of gravity and dropped back down towards the surface instead of hurtling through the air and towards the friendly ships in the nearby vicinity.

The rest of the ships seemed to be having equally hard of a time dealing with the planes. Their anti-air batteries were firing rapidly, but the planes kept dodging them by doing spirals and pulling G-forces that Rackham had never before seen in his entire career.

"There's something strange about those planes. This shouldn't be happening," Bonnet frowned as he watched a light cruiser off to their port side take a heavy hit from one of the drones' bombs.

Rackham, meanwhile, was busy watching the starboard side, where one of the planes was flying around Bismarck's ship. The plane kept trying to come in close enough to drop its bomb, but the anti-air turrets on the surface of the ship were swiveling around with remarkable speed and accuracy, firing their small plasma shots and keeping the plane from getting close.

_It looks like I was right about Bismarck's skill, _Rackham thought. _I know she's busy, but I kind of want to contact her again._

Rackham got back on the console. "Bismarck, are you there?"

"_Yes, sir… These annoying pests! Even in this age, planes are annoying," _Bismarck spat. "_Regardless, Captain, I am preparing to fire again."_

Though Bismarck was still busy fending off the planes, she managed to fire off a shot from her main guns at the enemy aircraft carrier. They were a bit closer now than when Bismarck had first started shooting and the aircraft carrier was slower than destroyers and light cruisers, so Rackham expected Bismarck to get in a good hit.

However, that turned out not to be the case. As soon as Bismarck had fired, the carrier was already moving, and like its planes, it maneuvered with amazing speed and precision, barely avoiding the shot and letting Bismarck's beams fire wide.

"But how!" Rackham wondered aloud as he watched it unfold. Then his pale, yellow eyes grew wide. "Don't tell me…"

The console flashed to life, displaying the image of a woman on the screen as well as on the main screen on the bridge down below. She had long, white hair underneath a naval-style cap and piercing violet eyes, and her extraordinary beauty caught the attention of everyone on board.

"_This is the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise," _the woman said in a firm, unwavering tone. "_Lay down your arms and surrender. If not, I will be forced to destroy you."_


	3. Big Bang III

**11/28, GCY 320**

**1100 hours**

**Enceladus Colony, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

"It's a ship girl! Another one!" Rackham yelled in excitement as Enterprise finished her statement.

"So there's more of them…" Bonnet looked a lot more apprehensive than his captain did.

"The Grey Ghost, huh?" Jean Bart regarded the image on the screen warily. "I have never faced her myself, but I have heard tales of her war records. To think that she would show up here…"

Littorio shared Rackham's enthusiasm. "Enterprise! _Meravigliosa_! To get a chance to do battle with a legend like this, it truly is an honor!"

"What? We're not even doing anything," Jean Bart reminded Littorio.

"Ugh, you are right! My blood is boiling for battle, but all I can do is stand here and watch!" Littorio groaned.

Rear Admiral Vane finally responded to Enterprise's words. "_Enterprise is your name? Do you realize what situation you are in? All your escorts have been sunk, and we have lost only one ship. We are closing in on your position and we will destroy you shortly. I implore you to surrender, or else we will have to finish you off as well."_

Vane's command was somewhat undercut when the light cruiser that got hit by a bomb earlier finally exploded, purple flames streaming out from its hull as it lost power and started drifting towards the ground.

"_I cannot surrender. I was ordered to hold this position, and I will not give in no matter how many enemies I am facing," _Enterprise responded, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Suddenly, another ship joined the conversation.

"_Enterprise, this is the KMS Bismarck. You will face me in battle."_

A short silence followed before Enterprise replied. "_Nazi Germany's greatest battleship… I see. That only strengthens my resolve."_

_Of course it does, the USA and Germany were enemies in World War II! _Rackham thought, wondering why Bismarck had decided to bait Enterprise like that.

Either way, he wasn't about to just sit around and hope that Bismarck could win this fight. Based on what he had seen Enterprise's planes do, he had no doubt that the American carrier could do severe damage to the fleet even by herself.

_Sorry, Admiral Vane, but I'm going to need to change this plan up a bit, _Rackham smirked.

He input Bismarck's channel into the console. "Bismarck, are you listening? We are going to rush straight at her. Get your engines working at maximum capacity and sail at Enterprise. Focus mainly on anti-air, but if you can, try and get in a few shots at her too. We will be sailing underneath you and using you as cover. Understood?"

"_Copy that, sir. This would require us to move out of the predetermined fleet formation," _Bismarck pointed out.

"That's fine, just do it," Rackham told her before switching to Rear Admiral Vane's channel. "Admiral Vane, I am going to take the _Sputnik _and rush at the enemy. We will take her out."

"_What are you saying? We need to stay in formation and enclose the enemy, Captain Rackham," _Vane said.

"That won't work! You can see how she is pushing us back with just her planes. We will lose too many ships by the time we get there," Rackham argued.

Indeed, Enterprise's black planes were swarming around the Titan Fleet, wreaking havoc upon every ship still floating. Their own carrier was emitting purple smoke from multiple hits, and another one of their destroyers was on fire and in serious danger of blowing up. Their second battleship all the way on the left flank had almost stopped moving and slowed considerably, presumably due to a hit to the engines. In addition to their high maneuverability, Enterprise's planes were also extremely accurate, being able to hit the most critical points on a ship in only one or two attempts.

"Our attack has stalled, but I have a plan that can change that. Only my ship can carry it out," Rackham continued.

Rear Admiral Vane was reluctant, but he could not ignore the reality of the situation. "_Fine, then. But you will take responsibility if this goes wrong."_

_Heh, if this goes wrong I probably won't even be alive. _"Understood, sir."

"_One more thing, Captain… That girl, Enterprise - just what is she? She doesn't wear the regular uniform of a JGC officer, and her carrier is operating at an abnormally high level. In fact, the _Sputnik _is acting the same way. There is some sort of connection, isn't there?"_

Rackham figured Rear Admiral Vane would ask this eventually. After all, you usually don't reach flag officer rank unless you're at least slightly intelligent. "There is a connection, yes. However, now isn't the time to discuss that. I will tell you about it after this battle is won, sir."

"_All right. Go, then."_

Flipping back to Bismarck's channel, Rackham launched the operation. "It's time, Bismarck. Let's go!"

The big battleship beside them started moving, its lumbering form sailing through the dry, icy air of the moon as Bismarck steered it towards Enterprise.

"Sail under that battleship! Make sure we're covered, and focus all anti-air efforts to our flanks and underside!" Rackham ordered his crew.

The _Soyuz _utilized its quick speed to duck underneath Bismarck, and with the slower speed of the battleship, the light cruiser was easily able to keep up with it. Bismarck forged ahead, drawing the attention of Enterprise and her planes.

"What sort of strategy is this?" Jean Bart asked, frowning at their movements.

"Hah, shouldn't you know, Jean? We're pirates, after all," Rackham grinned.

The French ship girl's eyes widened slightly. "You don't mean you're going to…"

"I am," Rackham nodded confidently.

"Uh, I am not quite sure what is going on here, but I like this strategy! It's bold!" Littorio approved.

"That's all well and good, but don't forget that the enemy's jets are going to focus their firepower on us now," Commander Bonnet interjected humorlessly. "We must hope that Bismarck can hold them off for us. The _Soyuz _alone stands no chance against planes of this caliber."

"Ah, if only I could be out there fighting too!" Littorio lamented once again.

Rackham couldn't do anything to help that right now, but that did get him thinking… Assuming Littorio and Jean Bart were on par with Bismarck, a fleet with all three of them would be practically unstoppable.

_Guess that's what happens when you turn weapons that are meant to defeat otherworldly aliens onto regular humans, _he thought.

Outside of the ship, Enterprise's black jets were shifting their attention onto Bismarck. The planes circled like vultures, then made their bombing runs. Rackham couldn't see much from the _Soyuz_'s position underneath Bismarck, but he could hear the faint throbbing of Bismarck's AA guns nonetheless. Thankfully he didn't hear any bigger explosions than that, which meant that Bismarck was managing to keep the planes at bay for now.

Rackham stared intently at the hologram displayed by the main console, which was showing the trajectory of Bismarck and _Soyuz _and their position in relation to Enterprise. They were rapidly advancing upon the lone carrier, but as they moved forward, more and more planes began to focus on eliminating Bismarck.

A loud thud was then heard, causing the crew of the _Soyuz _to glance upward with concern.

"Bismarck, have you taken a hit?" Rackham quickly asked over the console.

"Scheisse… _Yes, but it is not too bad. I can keep going."_

"All right, keep charging forwards!"

Hoping that Bismarck would be able to hold out, Rackham sat down in his chair, not able to do much right now. The _Soyuz_'s anti-air armament would easily be overwhelmed by Enterprise's planes if Rackham sailed his ship out to try and help Bismarck, so there was no choice but to wait for Bismarck to get close to Enterprise.

The sounds of the cannons of the rest of the Titan Fleet could be heard from behind, which meant that Rear Admiral Vane had finally determined that his fleet was close enough to begin opening fire.

_I wonder if they're making any hits, _Rackham thought. He went over to the main console and inputted some commands into the touchscreen, which gave him access to the live feed coming from the flagship of the fleet, which was the other battleship.

He watched the screen intently as the spiralling blue beams of plasma shot out towards Enterprise in the distance, but the ship girl in control of the carrier moved adeptly through the cold gray skies, managing to evade all of the shots. Now would be the perfect time for Bismarck to strike with her own guns, but given that she hadn't, she was probably too busy dealing with the majority of Enterprise's planes, which were swarming around her.

Even on the live feed, Rackham could see Bismarck in the distance with several black jets dancing around her. Machine guns from the planes bit away at her armor, and he watched one of the planes swoop in and drop its bomb near her bow, resulting in a small explosion. The crew of the _Soyuz _heard the sound as well.

_We're almost there. Just a little longer, _Rackham paced around the console impatiently as he watched Bismarck and the _Soyuz _underneath her sail closer and closer to Enterprise.

Bismarck called into the console. "_Captain, the enemy is beginning to increase the intensity of their attacks. Furthermore, we will soon be entering the range of her defensive cannons. It may be difficult to hold on at this rate…"_

_Fine then, guess we will have to strike now. _"Understood, Bismarck. We will be making our move, so please retreat and do not fire upon the carrier unless I give the order. The rest of the fleet already knows that, but remind them again just in case."

As soon as he finished, Rackham went over to the railing and looked down on the bridge crew. "Set the thrusters to maximum speed! We're going to ram that carrier!"

He then turned to Bonnet. "Get Chief Kidd and the rest of the marines ready for battle."

"Roger that," Bonnet acknowledged, moving over to the console to call them.

Rackham sat down on his chair, looking out the main bridge windows as the _Soyuz _finally emerged from underneath Bismarck. The ship began hurtling towards Enterprise at full speed, and at this distance, there was nothing that the carrier could do to stop it.

Within a minute, the _Soyuz _was right beside the large carrier. As it had done days earlier to the cargo ship, the light cruiser latched onto the carrier, anchoring itself to the bigger ship. Like a virus attacking a cell, the _Soyuz _released its metal corridor and pierced the hull of the carrier, connecting the two ships and allowing for passage between their interiors.

Rackham went over to the main console and gave his final orders to the rest of the fleet. "Attention to all ships: this is the _Soyuz_. We are going to board the enemy carrier now, so please hold your fire and allow us to finish the fight. Focus on anti-air fire and don't let the enemy planes attack our ship, and continue your advance towards the enemy."

He was sure that Rear Admiral Vane and Bismarck had already said most of this to the fleet, but it couldn't hurt to repeat it for safety's sake. Now that he had finished with that, it was time to conclude this battle.

"Sir, don't tell me that you're going too?" Commander Bonnet asked, noticing Rackham heading towards the exit. "I'm sure you already know this, but this is a carrier and has a much bigger crew than the ships we are used to boarding. This will be very dangerous."

"I do know that, of course, but I have to go. I have to see this 'Enterprise' for myself," Rackham insisted.

Bonnet sighed. "Fine, I suppose I can't convince you otherwise. I will keep things in control over here."

"Good, I'll see you when I get back," Rackham hurriedly said as he jogged out of the bridge and towards the connector.

When he made it to the entrance of the connector, he found Master Chief Kidd and the marines waiting for the order to head out.

"Captain. Will you be joining us?" Kidd questioned when he saw Rackham arrive himself instead of just giving the order through the intercom or terminals.

"Yes, I'm too curious to stay behind," Rackham admitted.

Kidd chuckled. "If you say so. I'm sure you know that this will be pretty dangerous, though."

Chief Kidd reached over to the sword rack nearby and handed Rackham a sheathed cutlass. The metal was specifically made to cut through body armor, and it would be better suited for close-quarters combat.

Rackham took the sword and latched it onto his belt, letting it hang from his left side. "All right, Chief, lead the way."

Chief Kidd nodded, then motioned for the marines to follow him through the connector. Rackham stayed towards the rear, his pistol drawn. Though he was prepared to fire at any signs of resistance, there was something inside him that told him there wouldn't be much, if any, opposition, even though they were about to enter a large aircraft carrier.

_These rebels don't have many people to begin with, and if they have someone like Enterprise who can control an entire carrier by herself, why waste personnel by putting them inside this carrier? They'd only get in her way, _Rackham reasoned.

But even if he thought that was the case, he couldn't just make assumptions. Better to be safe than sorry.

The marines made it into the interior of the carrier. The aesthetic of the inside of the ship was the same as the _Soyuz_'s, though there was a lot more space considering the aircraft carrier had much bigger passageways. That made the dead silence they heard when entering the ship all the more conspicuous, and the marines stopped and wondered where the enemies were. Any competent opposition force would have stacked troops right at the entrance of the connector as soon as they felt the pirate ship latch onto them, and yet there was no one here.

"Nobody here? I guess these rebels are fairly shorthanded," Kidd said.

_Hm… So it looks like my first instinct was correct after all, _Rackham thought. He had to admit, if he had actually thought he would run into significant resistance in the carrier, he probably wouldn't have come along.

"Let's head to the bridge. If there's anyone here, that's where they're going to be," Rackham ordered.

"Okay. To the bridge," Chief Kidd affirmed before leading the group up to their destination. Since this was an Outer Reach ship, everyone was already familiar with its layout, and the _Soyuz _had strategically placed its connector as close to the bridge as it could.

When they made it to the expansive, high-tech bridge of the aircraft carrier, there were surprised to find that it was also empty save for one person: the beautiful silver-haired woman they had seen earlier on the broadcast, Enterprise.

Enterprise turned to meet them when they entered, a defiant look in her violet eyes. "So, you've come. I should have known this was what you were attempting."

None of the marines spoke, all of them still in shock that there was nobody aboard this carrier except for one woman and yet she was still taking on their entire fleet by herself and winning.

Rackham was glad to see that his guess about the 'crew' of this carrier had been proven correct, but now that he was face-to-face with Enterprise, he hesitated. Though he had a large group of salty space marines on his side, he had no idea what Enterprise's capabilities were. If she was this good at controlling an enormous warship by herself, surely it would be a trivial matter for her to completely eliminate these measly humans who had invaded her vessel?

_But if that were true, I'm sure Bismarck, Littorio, or Jean Bart would've warned me beforehand, _Rackham reasoned. _There's no way Enterprise has the upperhand here._

With that knowledge, Rackham stepped forward. "Enterprise! I am Captain Rackham of the _Soyuz_. We have you surrounded both inside and outside your ship, so this battle is over. Surrender and we will spare your life."

Enterprise frowned. "Surrender? I can't. I have been given orders to fight until my last breath against the tyranny of the Outer Reach."

"Orders by whom? These radical rebels who probably lied about everything they told you?" Rackham pressed. "And look, they have all been killed anyway. Nobody is going to punish you if you surrender now."

"It isn't about punishment… It's about staying true to my principles. I won't surrender," Enterprise firmly declared.

"Fine, you're only going to make this harder for yourself. Marines, restrain her!" Rackham ordered, unsheathing his cutlass and pointing it Enterprise.

In a flurry of motion, four of the marines leapt at her, and before Enterprise could react, she was on the ground with her hands being held behind her back and her legs restrained by two of the marines.

"Gh…! Get off me!" Enterprise struggled to break free.

_So it seems she doesn't possess above average strength? _Rackham assumed. Even as Enterprise writhed underneath the grasp of the marines, she could not shake them off at all.

"All right, tie her up and let's take her back to our ship," Rackham told the marines in Russian now that he could see Enterprise wouldn't be able to threaten them.

… Or so he thought.

"If it's come to this… Then I have no choice!" Enterprise suddenly said. "I will ram this ship into the ground and destroy all of you!"

"What?!" Rackham blurted out.

He had completely forgotten that Enterprise was in complete control of the carrier. Given that an aircraft carrier had a much more powerful engine than a light cruiser, it would most likely be able to pull the _Soyuz _down with it, therefore killing not only everyone in Enterprise's bridge, but all the sailors on Rackham's ship as well.

Rackham knelt down beside Enterprise. "Don't be a fool, Enterprise! Why cause needless bloodshed? Just accept you've lost!"

"If I can take you all out, I haven't lost," Enterprise stubbornly rebutted.

"Then I'll be forced to kill you," Rackham stated, pointing his sword at her throat. He didn't actually plan on killing something as valuable as a ship girl, but he hoped the threat would make her reconsider.

Enterprise only smirked at him. "Go ahead, but this ship will already be on its collision course with the ground."

"All right, fine! We will leave your ship alone and you can go free. Will that do?

"You'll give me your word that your fleet will retreat?" Enterprise asked him.

Rackham stood up. "On my honor as a pirate."

"Fine, then. Let me go."

The captain motioned for the marines to get off her, which they did. Enterprise stood up, dusted herself off, and straightened her skirt.

"Leave right now," Enterprise said.

"All right, all right. Just one last thing before I go."

Rackham sheathed his sword, stepped towards her, and then let loose the hardest uppercut he could muster with his right arm. His fist slammed into Enterprise's chin, knocking the ship girl to the ground and dazing her. Before she could regain her bearings, Rackham grabbed the back of her head and slammed her temple into the ground twice, knocking her out.

He then picked up Enterprise and turned to the marines and Chief Kidd, who looked utterly shocked.

"Don't just stand there! We need to get off this ship before she wakes up!" Rackham yelled.

The marines came to their senses, and Rackham and his group sprinted out of the carrier and back towards the connector as fast as they could.

_Sorry about this, Enterprise, but you asked for it! _Rackham felt bad about having to treat her this roughly, but he hoped a trip to the medical bay would fix her up.

"Chief, get to the bridge and tell them to retract the connector," Rackham said when they got back to their own ship.

"Roger that," Kidd saluted before heading towards the bridge.

Rackham himself started walking towards the medical bay, the unconscious Enterprise still in his arms. He could feel her begin to stir, and he was at least glad he hadn't accidentally killed her.

"Hello, please treat her for a head injury," Rackham said to one of the nurses when he entered the medical bay.

The medical personnel stared curiously at the beautiful girl in the captain's arms, clearly seeing that she wasn't one of their regular sailors. Rackham didn't have time to wait around for them to come to their senses, so he just set Enterprise down on a nearby bed.

"Alert me when she wakes up!" he gave his parting orders before hurrying back to the bridge. He realized he had forgotten to tell them to restrain her when she wakes up, but hopefully Enterprise wouldn't cause too much trouble.

Commander Bonnet greeted him when he returned to the bridge. "Sir, it seems the carrier has stopped moving. All the planes have begun to return to the carrier as well."

Rackham sat back down in his command chair. "Looks like we won, then. Enterprise has been recovered and is currently unconscious in the medical bay."

He turned to Littorio and Jean Bart. "She won't be able to control her ship from here, right?"

"No, we need to be aboard our vessel to control it," Jean Bart said.

"You managed to defeat Enterprise? Good job, sir!" Littorio congratulated him.

"Er, thanks…"

_She wasn't that hard to beat once we boarded her ship. _He still felt bad about knocking her out.

A small hologram popped up from one of the armrests on Rackham's chair, showing the slightly confused face of Rear Admiral Vane.

"_Captain Rackham, the carrier's drones have retreated. Can I assume that this means your plan was successful?"_

"Yes, sir. The battle is over and Enterprise has been apprehended," Rackham replied.

"_I see… Good work. I will order one ship to stay behind and board the carrier in order to take control of it, and the rest of us will retreat to outer space to await further orders," _Vane said.

"Roger that. The _Soyuz _can accept that duty since we have already boarded the ship once. I would also request that Captain Stortebeker's ship stay behind," Rackham suggested.

"_Fine. Stay in contact and report any problems if they arise, and expect further orders soon. By the way… I am still expecting some explanation about those girls. We will speak again." _Vane concluded before terminating the communications channel.

_All right, now it's time to land and raid the enemy base, _Rackham grinned. The whole reason he was even in the pirate fleet was to do things like this. The rebel base on the ground of Enceladus must certainly contain a good amount of money and resources.

Rackham went over to the console to make the ship-wide announcement. "Attention all crew: the battle has been won. We will now take over the empty enemy carrier and then land in the rebel base in order to take control of it as well. Marines and electronic warfare staff, prepare to head out."

He then switched to Bismarck's channel. "Bismarck, it's over. Are you all right?"

"_Yes, sir. I have taken a few hits, but we are still very much operational," _Bismarck answered.

"Okay. We're now just going to take over the enemy carrier, which shouldn't take long. After that, we're going to land by the rebel base on the ground, so stand by until then."

"Jawohl."

The captain leaned back in his seat after closing the channel with Bismarck. Now it was just a matter of cleaning up here, and then they could take all three ships down to the rebel base and clear it out of riches and whatever feeble force remained behind to guard it.

"Hey, Captain, can we go see Enterprise?" Littorio asked him. "That pretty, long, silver hair! Those violet eyes! I can't wait to meet her."

"Eh, sure. I wonder if she's awake by now," Rackham stood up. "Bonnet, make sure the takeover of the carrier goes well. Alert me if there are any issues."

"Sir," Bonnet saluted in affirmation.

Rackham and Littorio then went down towards the medical bay, with Jean Bart tagging along as well. Though the French ship girl still wore that ever-present frown, it appeared she was curious about Enterprise too.

When they got to the medical bay, they found Enterprise still asleep in the bed Rackham had left her in. There was a small cold pack on top of her forehead and her cap had been removed and was lying beside her, but other than that, it didn't seem like there had been much treatment done on her. That was probably a good thing since it meant that she wasn't too badly injured.

"Oho, such a sleeping beauty!" Littorio remarked.

"What happened to her? You beat her up, Captain?" Jean Bart wondered.

"W-Well, let's not put it like that," Rackham said. "Look, she's starting to stir."

Enterprise's purple eyes slowly opened, and she squinted under the bright lights of the medical bay. "Ugh…"

"Good morning. You're aboard our ship now," Rackham told her.

Enterprise sat up, letting the ice pack slide off her head as she brought a hand to her forehead and winced. "You… You lied to me and knocked me out, didn't you?"

Rackham shrugged. "What did you expect me to do? You said you were about to kill yourself, me, and every single one of my crew members, so I had no choice. You're lucky we didn't just shoot you."

Enterprise glared at him. "You swore on your honor that you would retreat."

"I swore on my honor as a pirate, and pirates have no honor," Rackham laughed. "Right, Jean?"

Jean Bart frowned. "I'm not a pirate…"

The silver-haired aircraft carrier finally noticed the two other ship girls in the room. "You two… You're ship girls as well?"

"Indeed! I am Littorio of the Regia Marina," the Italian battleship introduced, giving Enterprise a wink and a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Enterprise. _Come sei bella_!"

"I'm the French battleship Jean Bart," Jean Bart simply said.

"I see… And the Nazi battleship? Bismarck?" Enterprise inquired after the ship girl she had just been doing battle with.

"She's still aboard her own ship, but she's doing fine," Rackham told her. "And how are you, by the way? Aside from a headache, you don't have any other problems?"

"I am fine, I think. No thanks to you." Enterprise continued to scowl at him.

"_Khorosho_! All is well, then." Rackham ignored her angry expression. "Regardless, Enterprise, the fact remains that you and the rebels you were serving have been defeated. Would you consider joining us instead?"

"How can you even ask me that? There's no way I could join you," Enterprise flatly refused. "It may be true that I don't have any particular connection to the White Forces, but when they told me about the Outer Reach, particularly the Soviet Satellites of Saturn, I knew they were fighting for a just cause. You're communists who serve a brutal party that represses its people. That's why the White Forces revolted in the first place and wanted to join the much more democratic Joint Galactic Committee."

Rackham sighed. "That's just propaganda that they fed you. Do you seriously believe that shit?"

"I don't see why I shouldn't. Even back during my career in World War II, I survived long enough to see that the Russians would eventually become a problem. And since I've been born into this new body, I've been given the knowledge of what happened in history after World War II, and I know how much trouble communism caused for my country. I see it's no different in this era."

"Great… Seems you've misunderstood a lot here," Rackham sighed once more as he shook his head. "First of all, we are not Russians, we just speak Russian. Secondly, the 'brutality' you speak of is nowhere near as bad as it was during the early stages of the Soviet Union. Third and finally, the things you are speaking of happened so long ago that they are almost ancient history to us. Maybe it matters more to you since you actually fought in World War II, but I can assure you that no one in either the Outer Reach or the JGC still holds grudges from back then. Most of us weren't even born on Earth!"

"I understand that, but…" Enterprise still looked troubled.

"Jean, Littorio, and Bismarck have no problems siding with us. What's your issue?" Rackham pointed out.

Enterprise cast a quick glance at the two battleships. "All of them are from the Axis Powers. It's no surprise that they'd join your side."

"Okay, but if you're comparing me with the Russians, then weren't the Russians on America's side during World War II?" Rackham asked, confused.

"Now, now, let's not make this complicated," Littorio stepped in with a confident smile. "Better to be lovers than enemies, no? We will treat you well, Signora Enterprise."

"Tch. Who cares what she chooses? She's our prisoner anyway," Jean Bart said.

Rackham nodded. "That's right. See, Enterprise, even though you're our prisoner, we haven't punished you or even chained you up or anything. Surely you can see how nice we are? Don't worry, as long as you stay with me, you're safe from the gulags!"

"You still have gulags, huh…" Enterprise was unimpressed.

_Damn it, _Rackham internally cursed his slip up. "W-Well, we rarely send anyone to them, so… Anyway, sorry, but you're still our prisoner. Don't cause any trouble and we won't have to restrain you, all right? Stay in the medical bay and rest as much as you like. If you have any questions or concerns, ask the staff here to contact me on the bridge. _Do svidaniya_."

The captain went off to return to the bridge in order to supervise the takeover of Enterprise's former ship, leaving the three ship girls alone.

"So… You two, where did you come from? How did you join this fleet?" Enterprise asked.

"Who knows? Sometimes life is directed by nothing more than a series of whimsical events," Littorio said with another one of her dashing smiles.

Predictably, Jean Bart frowned at Littorio's answer. "It's true enough that we don't know exactly what we're doing here, but we were first found by Captain Rackham's ship when they boarded the cargo ship that was carrying us. It wasn't long ago, but ever since then, we've just been sticking around here."

Enterprise blinked. "Aren't you upset that the Outer Reach just took you like that?"

"Why should we be? It's not as if we 'belong' to anyone anymore," Jean Bart replied. "Our home countries are across the solar system from us, and the JGC doesn't have any more claim to us than the Outer Reach does. Our only real goal here is to fight the Sirens - or have you forgotten that, Enterprise?"

Enterprise looked away. "N-No, but…"

"If you know that, then why does it matter who you fight for? Just join us," Littorio urged.

"It does matter!" Enterprise shot back. "I refuse to fight for a side whose ideals I don't agree with."

"Ideals? What ideals? I didn't really interact with you back in the War, but from what I've heard, you were ruthless on the battlefield and sunk and damaged many ships. You killed a lot of people," Jean Bart said. "The country you fought for also did its fair share of killing, both during and after the war. You never had any ideals except for pointing your planes at whoever you were commanded to fight."

Enterprise looked down at her fists. "Maybe you're right… That's why I wanted this time to be different…"

Littorio laughed. "Come now, we all know what humans are essentially the same in every age. Even now, thousands of years into the future, human nature hasn't changed. Every side in this war is going to have its flaws, whether you fight for those rebels, the JGC, or the Outer Reach. Just pick a side and have fun, at least until those Sirens show up again!"

"I don't think it's that simple…" Enterprise shook her head.

"Trust me, it is," Littorio grinned. "I would suggest giving joining Captain Rackham some thought. He seems like an interesting officer so far, no? Don't worry about betraying your ideals or your country anything like that… This is outer space, Enterprise! You should enjoy it."

Jean Bart and Littorio then left to return to the bridge, saying they wanted to check up on where they were heading to next. Enterprise sat in her bed, staring out the large window on the far side of the room.

_Outer space, huh? _

She was actually looking at the white skies of Enceladus, so technically they weren't in space right now, but she had to admit, she was interested in it and how combat would go in this new age. Today had been her first taste of controlling a spaceship, and she felt like it came naturally to her.

_I wonder how it would feel to fly through the stars, _she mused to herself. _It must be so freeing… _

Enterprise lay back down, cringing a bit as her head throbbed from the movement. She closed her eyes, letting her usual visions of planes and ships exploding be replaced with the soothing, vast emptiness of outer space.


	4. Big Bang IV

**11/28, GCY 320**

**1200 hours**

**Enceladus Colony, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

Captain Jack Rackham sat in his chair on the bridge of his light cruiser, observing through the main bridge windows as the ship touched down onto the snowy surface of the moon Enceladus. They were landing on a dock surface nearby the base of the White Forces rebels, which essentially was just a series of large helipads. Following the _Soyuz _were Bismarck and the captured aircraft carrier. Bismarck touched her large ship down perfectly, which at this point didn't come as a surprise considering how skilled she was with controlling every other aspect of the ship.

"Sir, we've finished our landing. We are clear to head out," Commander Bonnet stated after a few minutes of making sure everything was in order.

"All right, call the marines to the exit ramp," Rackham ordered. He then turned to Jean Bart and Littorio, who were still hanging around the bridge. "Are you two coming?"

"We're permitted to go? Then of course!" Littorio immediately answered, eager to get off the ship.

"Won't it be dangerous? Not that I'm scared, but we can't exactly defend ourselves without our ships," Jean Bart said.

Rackham shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. My guess is that anyone who could fight was already part of that fleet we just destroyed, and that there's no one left in their HQ except maybe a tiny token force. It's not like the White Forces were very numerous to begin with, and we'll have the marines to protect us."

"Well, if you're going, then I guess it can't be too dangerous," Jean Bart acquiesced.

"You can look at it that way if you want," Rackham admitted. "What about Enterprise? Do you think she would want to go?"

"... Sir, she's our prisoner," Bonnet gave him a look, overhearing their conversation.

"So? She doesn't seem hostile, and like Jean just said, there's not much a ship girl can do without her ship. Might as well bring her along to see if she has any insider information about the base," Rackham reasoned.

Bonnet shook his head but didn't argue any further, and so Rackham and the two battleships made their way to the medical bay. There they found Enterprise sitting up on her bed and drinking a glass of water. The American ship girl turned to them when they entered.

"You're back… Have we landed?" she asked. She seemed calmer than before.

"We have. We're going to go and clean up the White Forces base now. Do you want to come along?" The captain propositioned.

Enterprise blinked. "You want me to go? Why?"

"Why not? You probably know your were around the base, right?"

"Not really. I was only activated a short while ago," Enterprise admitted. Her violet eyes then sparked in realization of something. "Actually, I would like to go."

"What, did you forget something at the base?" Rackham wondered with a smirk, noticing her sudden change.

"Er… Something like that," Enterprise said as she got to her feet, albeit unsteadily.

With the silver-haired American following behind, Rackham led the other two ship girls towards the exit ramp, where they found the space marines and Master Chief Kidd waiting. The marines were dressed in considerably thicker armor and jackets this time.

"Sir. We've completed the preliminary heat scan on the enemy base, and it seems like there are only a handful of people left inside. Looks like most of them abandoned the base or died during the battle," Kidd told him, pretty much confirming Rackham's original guess.

"Yeah, I figured as much. Let's go, then," the captain commanded.

The door to the ramp slid open, revealing the snowy landscape of Enceladus. The base of the White Forces lay before them. It was a large, white compound that seemed fairly empty judging by the lack of noise coming from inside and the fact that nobody bothered to come outside to attack the invaders.

Bismarck and Captain Stortebeker were already waiting outside for them, the latter looking a bit dazed.

"Good job out there, Bismarck!" Rackham greeted.

"_Danke, _sir," Bismarck replied, though her icy eyes were focused on Enterprise standing behind the captain. "So you brought the Enterprise."

"Yes, she's agreed to join us. Isn't that great?" Rackham smiled.

"I never agreed to that…" Enterprise muttered.

Bismarck regarded her warily. "It doesn't matter to me what she does, though I must admit, she was quite skilled with her planes. I can see why she was feared across the Pacific."

Enterprise perked up at the praise. "You weren't so bad yourself, Bismarck."

"Well, isn't that nice," Rackham grinned. "But we can save the conversation for later. We need to clear this base first."

"Right. Do you require my services, sir?" Bismarck asked.

"Not really, but you can come along if you want. All the other ship girls are," Rackham told her. "What about you, Captain Stortebeker? Or have you had enough action for today?"

"I think I am going to get to work on the after-action report instead…" Stortebeker said, still looking confused.

"Suit yourself. All right, marines! Get to work!"

The marines ran up to the front door of the base, two of them flanking the entrance as the third one positioned himself in front of it.

"Breaching!" he yelled as he smashed his steel-studded boots into the door.

The door quite easily flung open… A little too easily, and the marine did not expect the thing to literally be unlocked and therefore stumbled through the doorway and fell on his ass.

"Haha! A marvelous entrance!" Littorio cheered.

The rest of the marines began pouring into the compound, swiveling their laser rifles around as they tried to identify any threats. But just like the inside of Enterprise's carrier, this compound also appeared to empty.

"Looks to be abandoned. Our combat skills are going get rusty at this rate," Kidd noted, frowning.

"Personally I think it's good luck. Let's keep going and find the command suite. They should have access to all the White Forces funds and resources there," Rackham said.

Given that the White Forces were just using a standard Outer Reach military base, it was easy for the marines to find their way to the command center. When they got to the room which was the main office of operations, they found that the door had been blocked by stacks of boxes and crates.

"Looks like this base is pretty old after all. The door here is just a regular one without any identification technology," Rackham said after seeing how the rebels had to resort to putting obstacles in front of the door to prevent if from being forcefully opened.

"Is this measly amount of obstacles supposed to stop us? Get those out of the way," Kidd told the marines.

Most of the marines holstered their weapons momentarily in order to move the boxes away. However, the moment that one of the boxes in the center was touched, a man burst out of the box, his eyes crazed and his hands wrapped around a laser pistol.

"Die, Outer Reach scum!" the rebel yelled, pointing his weapon directly at Rackham and firing.

It all happened so quickly that nobody could react, and the rebel pulled the trigger before anyone knew what was happening… Except nothing came out of the weapon. The laser beam did not fire, and the rebel only had time to blink in confusion once before he was torn full of holes by the marines' own laser rifles. The charred, smoking corpse of the rebel slid back into the box he had popped out of.

"Shit, that was close. We let our guard down," Kidd cursed. He then glanced at Rackham. "You're not hurt, are you, Captain?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Rackham said.

Kidd looked perplexed. "Huh… I clearly saw that guy pull the trigger, and the entire reason why we use laser weapons in the first place is because they don't ever jam and are more reliable than conventional guns. How did nothing come out of his weapon?"

The marine leader turned to the ship girls. "Did one of you do something?"

The four ship girls looked at each other in confusion.

"I don't believe we were built with that kind of ability," Jean Bart said.

Kidd scratched his head. "Then how… Whatever. As long as no one got hit, then let's just consider it a lucky break, I guess."

The ship girls glanced at Captain Rackham, who said nothing. Even after nearly being shot, he maintained his usual calm expression and easy smile. His unnerving yellow eyes were the only thing that gave them pause, but they too were the same as always, even if they were disturbing to look at.

"You guys done yet? Let's get inside," Chief Kidd barked at the marines as they shuffled the last crate out of the way.

With one hand still holding his laser rifle, Kidd reached for the door handle to pull it open. But before he could do so, a loud bang sounded from within the room, startling everyone.

"What was that? Open the door," Rackham commanded.

Kidd tried to jerk the door open, but it barely budged. "Great. Of course this one is locked."

As the marines got to work trying to get the door open, Enterprise stared at the door intently.

"That was the sound of small arms fire," she stated with a concerned frown.

"So the enemy commander killed himself. Expected, I suppose," Jean Bart said dismissively.

Rackham crossed his arms as he waited impatiently for the marines to finish. "We could have used him to give us access to the White Forces' accounts. If he's killed himself, then that probably means he knew we would come for him and that he's likely gotten rid of any documents or files left that could allow us to take control of their remaining resources."

"Are the resources that important? Their fleet seemed rather small; surely they don't have much left?" Littorio asked.

"Their resources may not be a lot in terms of the money and equipment that the Outer Reach Fleet as a whole has, but to a single ship's crew, it's a lot. The entire point of us breaking into their base was to try and take their resources for ourselves," Rackham explained. "The good thing about being a pirate is that you get opportunities like this to line your pockets pretty handsomely. Right, Jean?"

"Don't look at me. I was a part of an official navy," Jean Bart sighed at once again being mistaken for a pirate by Rackham.

"Oho, Captain, you're quite the rulebreaker," Littorio smiled and nudged Rackham.

Rackham smirked. "Well, technically it _is_ illegal, but the Outer Reach has a pirate fleet for a reason. As hard-assed as Saturn's government can be, they tend to look the other way when it comes to us."

A few more minutes passed before the marines managed to get the door open. They erupted into the room, which had the appearance of the standard officer's quarters, their weapons raised and ready to eliminate any more unexpected threats.

However, there was nobody in the room save for two figures, one of whom was slumped over on the desk, his head blown open. He wore the standard uniform of the Saturn Fleet, and his blood was staining the wooden desk as well as the wall behind him.

The other person in the room was a beautiful woman with silver hair and lavender eyes, and she was weirdly dressed in a maid uniform. When the marines burst in, she was busy cleaning the blood off the desk with a cloth, and she momentarily paused her work to greet the invaders.

"Welcome to the White Forces Headquarters," she bowed, speaking in a refined British accent, though a tinge of Irish flair could be detected by the trained ear. "Unfortunately, our commander is in no condition to offer his greetings, so please take mine instead."

The marines stared at her with confused looks on their faces, glancing at one another and at a loss for how to respond to that.

"Ah, Belfast, you're all right. That's good," Enterprise said as she entered.

"Welcome back, Miss Enterprise. I am glad to see you are safe as well," Belfast replied politely.

The marines made way for Rackham and the other ship girls. The black-haired captain blinked as he took in the sight of Belfast and the dead commander, then smiled.

"_Privyet_! I am Captain Rackham of the Soviet Satellites of Saturn. You must be another ship girl."

"That I am. I am HMS Belfast, a light cruiser of the Royal Navy," Belfast confirmed.

"Very interesting… So why were you not part of the battle earlier?" Rackham asked.

"The original plan was that Belfast was to take the remainder of the White Forces personnel and leave the planet in case we lost the battle," Enterprise supplied as she glanced at the corpse on the desk. "From the looks of things here, it seems they didn't have time to do so… Sorry we couldn't hold out longer, Belfast."

"That is quite all right. Many of the personnel here deserted anyway, so our plans went awry from the start," Belfast stated.

Enterprise frowned. "Deserted? But I thought they all believed in this cause…"

"Once the size of the enemy fleet became known to us here on the ground, a good number of the sailors decided that the outcome was already decided, and so they fled," Belfast said.

"How cowardly…" Enterprise grit her teeth.

"Well, you can't say they were wrong!" Rackham laughed. "Anyway, Belfast, since the White Forces have been wiped out completely, how about joining our fleet instead? We already have four ship girls with us, so you won't be alone."

Belfast cast a regretful look at the dead commander on the desk and placed her bloody rag beside the body. "Since my previous master is now deceased, I shall take you up on your offer, Captain Rackham. And if Enterprise has decided to join you as well, then I am sure you are a trustworthy master."

"Wait, I didn't say anything like that. I'm just a prisoner here," Enterprise clarified.

"Oh, my apologies. I just assumed that was so since you are walking freely with them and without any restraints," Belfast said.

"Don't listen to her, Belfast. No 'prisoner' of the Soviet Satellites ever gets treated this well," Rackham pointed out. "Either way, you have to go _somewhere, _don't you? You might as well go with us."

"I have no reason to refuse. I have only been with the White Forces for a short time and they clearly no longer need my services, so it would be my honor to join your fleet," Belfast bowed once again.

"_Bene_, another cute girl has joined!" Littorio cheered.

"Hm, you've been quite popular among the ladies recently, sir," Chief Kidd marveled.

"Haha! Call it a lucky streak, I suppose…" Rackham's smile died as he glanced around the room and noticed the shredded and burned documents in the corner as well as the destroyed computer beneath the desk. "Seems that the commander here at least had the presence of mind to destroy any way to access the White Forces' bank accounts or hidden resource stockpiles. Belfast, you don't happen to know any of the passwords or anything, do you?"

Belfast shook her head. "Unfortunately the commander here never shared that information with me."

Rackham sighed in defeat. "Great…"

"Aren't all the bank accounts in this era online? Surely your government could find a way to access them?" Bismarck asked, trying to see if she understood the situation correctly.

"The accounts are likely hidden behind aliases and proxy accounts and may not even be based in the Outer Reach, but yes, I'm sure our military will get to them eventually. The problem is that they won't give us a cut when they do," Rackham lamented.

"So we came here for nothing, then?" Jean Bart said, slightly disappointed.

"Far from it," Rackham replied, casting a glance at Belfast. "Far from it indeed."

* * *

**11/30, GCY 320**

**1400 hours**

**Rhea Colony, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

Bismarck, Jean Bart, and Littorio sat together at a table stationed by one of the large windows aboard the _Soyuz. _Though the ship was docked right now, they were looking outside one of the starboard side windows, meaning they could see into outer space. Among the blackness, they watched as various spaceships, mostly military models, took off and returned to the docks.

Captain Rackham and Commander Bonnet had left the ship to make their report to the admiral in charge of this station, so right now, the _Soyuz _was idle. The task force sent to defeat the White Forces had broken up and went their separate ways, though Rear Admiral Vane's ship had also docked at this military station and the rear admiral himself had gone along with Rackham and Bonnet to see Admiral Teach.

The ship girls had been told to stay aboard the ship, and currently they had just returned from the cafeteria and were lounging around with no particular goal in mind. Bismarck had a bottle of beer in hand as she stared out the window, and Littorio rested her chin in her palm as she stared at Bismarck with a lazy smile on her face. Jean Bart, in turn, was staring at Littorio, but wore a disgusted look instead of a dreamy one.

"Would you stop staring at her already? It's getting weird," Jean Bart finally said.

"Oh? You're not getting jealous, are you?" Littorio smirked at the French ship.

Bismarck turned away from the window to glare at Littorio. "I never could stand the Italians. I don't know why we ever allied with you people to begin with."

For her part, Littorio was unperturbed at the insult and only smiled wider. "I see, so you're playing hard to get, _signorina_. All the better for me because I like a challenge!"

Bismarck didn't deign to reply to that, instead just taking another swig of her beer.

Jean Bart eyed the drink enviously. "Why did the cooks give you that drink anyway? They said they normally don't serve alcohol in the cafeteria."

"It was a reward for the mission a few days ago. Apparently Captain Rackham told them to give it to me," Bismarck answered.

"How lucky! Why didn't you share it with us?" Littorio asked.

"Why would I? Besides, it isn't very good to begin with," Bismarck told her, eyeing the beer bottle somewhat unstrustfully. It was not a brand she had ever heard of, though that was expected given the time period they were in.

"It's still better than nothing," Jean Bart sighed.

"Do not worry, _bellissima_. When we go back to Earth, I will treat you to some wine from Italy's finest vineyards," Littorio promised.

"That's assuming we even go to Earth in the first place," Jean Bart pointed out. "We're currently in outer space and who knows how many miles away from our homelands. It's likely we'll never see our home countries ever again."

"Now that's a depressing thought," Littorio frowned. "What do you think, Bismarck?"

"Jean Bart is probably right. Captain Rackham and the rest of the humans here are fighting a war on a galactic scale, and Earth is merely a small part of it. Things are different now," Bismarck said evenly.

Littorio looked disappointed. "Is that so? Maybe we should just hijack some ships and sail to Earth on our own, then."

"Hmph. Don't forget we have a job to do here. You can feel it inside, can't you?" Bismarck's cold blue eyes burned with a fleeting flame. "It's that same feeling that we all had back in the War, where we knew deep down that we had to do all we could to help our countries be victorious. The only difference this time is that now our souls are compelling us to fight the Sirens and protect humanity instead of our individual countries."

Littorio and Jean Bart went silent, realizing that Bismarck was right. Whoever or whatever had built them in these ship girl forms had made sure to engrave that feeling into their core being, driving them to defeat the Sirens.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. In spite of what I may have said, I know that if the Sirens were to appear, I would fight them. Something deep within me is telling me that they must be eliminated," Littorio said, looking equal parts determined and perplexed.

"I guess it makes sense. Even back in World War II, we were built to protect humans. It's a different time period and a different enemy now, but our mission is still the same," Jean Bart reasoned.

Littorio crossed her arms, still not fully convinced. "_Si_, but isn't there something different about defeating the Sirens and fighting for people from your own culture and home? It doesn't feel as personal, I think…"

"It's still essentially the same," Bismarck stated. "Why are you Italian, or why am I German? It's because we were built by the people from those nations. This time around, we were built by the people who wanted to fight the Sirens, and so our goals have changed respectively."

"It does make sense, but I have to admit that I do agree with Littorio somewhat. It really doesn't feel as personal," Jean Bart said. "Why did the people who built us in these ship girl forms decide to leave in our personalities and nationalities? Wouldn't that simply make it harder for us to work together and to separate ourselves from our pasts and focus solely on defeating the Sirens?"

Bismarck finished the last drops of her beer. "That I can't answer. My guess is that when they harvested our Wisdom Cubes, they were unable to separate those parts of us from our cores… Either that, or they decided to leave them in because they thought those emotions would just make us stronger. After all, if the Sirens win, then all our home countries will be destroyed too."

"I have to say you're not wrong. But what about the battle the other day, then? That was against other humans. While I don't have anything against killing humans since that was our job even in the War, it must have felt a bit strange fighting for and against people you had no connection to whatsoever, no?" Littorio wondered.

"Somewhat. However, in the end, it does not matter. I was able to fight with my full strength because I know that even now, my name represents the hopes and pride of the German people. I cannot let them down by giving an embarrassing performance in any kind of battle," Bismarck declared firmly.

Littorio leaned back with an amused smile. "Hm… I like that! I will do the same, then!"

"Yeah, seems like we're going to have to give our best here even though we've got no real stake in this war," Jean Bart said with another frown. "Though the weirdest thing about this situation is not that we're in space, but rather that we have to fight alongside Americans and the Royal Navy… And speaking of those two, where have they gone off too? I noticed they sat at a different table in the cafeteria."

"It appears they don't like us very much. If I am being honest, the feeling is mutual," Bismarck replied sternly.

"Come now, don't be like that! We should get as close to each other as possible now that we're all comrades," Littorio grinned.

Bismarck rested her chin on her fist, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "... What's been bothering me is that if we found those two in the hands of the White Forces, then the enemy undoubtedly possesses more ship girls as well. After all, the three of us were originally supposed to be delivered to the Joint Galactic Committee too, so what I fear is that we may soon be forced to fight against our old allies."

"_Oui_, that is a possibility," Jean Bart look uneasy at that.

"Then we'll just have to convince them to join us, right? Just as we did to Enterprise and Belfast," Littorio stated confidently.

"We can only hope it will be that easy. The more time we allow them to spend in the hands of the enemy, the more reluctant they will be to leave them," Bismarck said. "Furthermore, there is another issue I am concerned about… You two know about it, don't you?"

The expressions on the other two ship girls turned serious.

"It's the command console, isn't it?" Jean Bart broke the silence. "We were built so that we could be completely controlled by humans, just as our warship selves were. However, given the unorthodox way we were booted up, our command consoles weren't activated, and so Captain Rackham and his crew don't have absolute control over us."

Bismarck nodded. "It's the same for Enterprise and Belfast as well. They were given to the rebel White Forces under unknown circumstances, and since they joined our side so easily, it's clear the White Forces had not activated their command consoles. It's likely that only a thorough, full start-up process done by someone who is intimately familiar with how we were built would be able to take advantage of the fact that we can be controlled through our command consoles. A haphazard crew of pirates or rebels did not go through the proper start-up process, and so we still have the ability to disobey them if we so choose. I don't know if the other ship girls will be as lucky."

"Yes, that will be a problem," Littorio sighed. "Even if we can convince other ship girls to leave and join us, they may physically be unable to if the enemy has activated their command consoles. It is in our best interest to recover them as soon as possible, then."

"Indeed. However, even if we do hold autonomy over ourselves, we unfortunately don't make the decisions around here," Bismarck pointed out. "We will have to convince Captain Rackham and his superiors first."

"That shouldn't be hard. You saw how excited he was to get more ship girls in his fleet when we picked up Enterprise and then Belfast," Jean Bart said.

"I suppose so, but this is still a war, and there is a chain of command and structure that must be followed. Even if Captain Rackham agrees with us, we may simply have no way to break into enemy territory and recover our comrades without first defeating the JGC in combat," Bismarck said.

"Before any of that, we don't even know where the other ship girls are located."

The three ship girls turned around at the source of the new voice and saw Enterprise walk into the room with Belfast following. The two silver-haired women strode up to the table.

"I only knew about Belfast's existence and nothing more. We've got no clue where the rest of them are, or how many were even created," Enterprise brought up.

"Ah, so you decided to join us after all! I knew we could be friends," Littorio smiled as she stood up and got uncomfortably close to Enterprise.

"Right…" Enterprise pushed Littorio off her with a grimace. "To put it simply, we need to work together out of necessity, even if I don't like any of you."

"What she means to say is that we should try and put the past behind us now that we are part of the same fleet," Belfast said. "Even if our goals are simply to find the missing members of our own respective fleets, it is in our best interest to cooperate. I look forward to working with you all."

Jean Bart scoffed at that. "Well, I don't 'look forward' to working with either one of you, but I'm not opposed to it either, especially if the enemy does end up having more ship girls than our fleet does."

"Very nice! Fighting among ourselves is the last thing we need," Littorio agreed.

Enterprise cast a wary look at Bismarck. "And what about you, Bismarck? You're all right with this?"

"I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice. We will fight together. For now, at least," Bismarck decided, though she didn't look happy about it.

"I guess, that's good enough," Enterprise said. From the moment she met her, she had felt uncomfortable around Bismarck, but she knew she would need the German's help, especially after seeing her strength firsthand.

"Now then, our first order of business should be to draw up a plan to locate our allies," Belfast said. "Since we ourselves don't have the ability to -"

"Wait just a second!" Littorio interrupted. "Our _real _first order of business should be to come up with a name for our new alliance. We need to know what to call ourselves, no?"

Jean Bart gave her a disdainful look. "Are you serious…?"

"Aren't we part of the Outer Reach? That's good enough, right?" Enterprise suggested lamely.

"Of course not! I mean we need a name for our group of ship girls, not the fleet as a whole," Littorio clarified. "What are we going to say to any other ship girls we meet? 'Please join the Outer Reach Fleet'? That's far too impersonal and generalized! Surely someone has a better suggestion?"

"Don't you have any yourself?" Jean Bart asked. Littorio was the one who brought up the idea, after all.

"Sadly, I do not. But it wouldn't be fair if I made all the decisions, no? Someone else should decide the name. Well, Bismarck? Any ideas?"

Bismarck looked entirely disinterested in this discussion and was annoyed when called upon. "How would I know?"

"I have another idea," Enterprise chirped up. "How about 'Azur Lane'?"

Littorio frowned. "You want to name it after one of our programs? Like your last suggestion, isn't that a bit too boring?"

"Hm… I quite like it," Belfast said. "After all, it is the Azur Lane program we possess that makes us unique, and it is what unites us as ship girls. It sounds like the perfect name to unite under when we fight the Sirens."

"Ah, I see your point. And anyway, since no one else has even bothered to make any suggestions, this one wins by default," Littorio concluded. "_Bene_! From now on, we will be known as Azur Lane!"

"Very good. Now that our name has been decided, may we move onto the actual order of operations?" Belfast picked up from where she left off. "Actually, before that, does this task force have a commander? I assume you are all working under Captain Rackham, are you not?"

The three battleships looked unsure of how to answer that.

"I guess…? He's just the one who found us. We agreed to work with him for now since we don't really have any predetermined fleet or country we're supposed to join," Jean Bart said.

"Is that so? Then, if I may ask, what sort of commander is Captain Rackham? I would simply like to know more about my new master so that I may serve him better," Belfast continued.

Once again, the three battleships didn't know how to answer.

"Well… We ourselves don't know that much about him since we have only been with him for a short while," Bismarck said. "From what I have seen from him so far, he seems to be a fairly intelligent commander where tactics are concerned. I don't know much about his personality, but he seems to be very curious about us ship girls and our abilities. Beyond that, I can't say much."

"Given that he commands a 'pirate' ship, it's safe to say he's probably more adventurous and independent than most military officers," Jean Bart offered. "Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide."

"I see. Regardless, he has been nothing but kind to me since I joined his fleet, so I have no reason to mistrust him," Belfast said. "Even so… There is something about him that has been bothering me. I feel it is unfair to say that since I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is, but still…"

"That is strange. I have felt the same," Bismarck agreed. "Of course, he has done nothing to warrant any distrust or distaste, but there is a feeling inside me that is telling me to be cautious of him for some reason."

"If you two feel that way and I do as well, then I think it is safe to assume that all of us here share that sentiment," Littorio said. "But I agree, it is strange. There isn't any explanation for it, is there? And furthermore, it isn't a major issue and just feels like a small warning in the back of my mind, like when you are sailing through a choppy sea and fear that it may begin storming soon."

"Yes, though I haven't been too happy about joining his side, I have to admit that Captain Rackham doesn't seem to be an evil person," Enterprise said. "The White Forces said that the Outer Reach was a terrible place to live and that the leaders of this alliance were cruel, but maybe what the Captain had said was true, and that it really was just propaganda. I suppose I'll just have to find out for myself."

Footsteps sounded just outside the room before the door slid open to reveal Captain Rackham and Commander Bonnet, back from their trip to Admiral Teach's office.

"Well, well, what's this? Looks like you all are getting along now," Rackham observed.

"Yes, sir! We have decided to put aside our differences in the name of love," Littorio declared.

"Now that's a heartwarming story," Rackham smiled in amusement. "That aside, I have some good news for you. After reading the reports and watching the video feed from the last battle, command has decided to give us three battleships entirely for ship girl use. Jean Bart and Littorio, you two will be able to fight beside Bismarck in the next battle."

"Oho? How exciting," Littorio grinned in anticipation.

"Hmph. I guess it has been a bit boring just sitting around," Jean Bart admitted.

"What about us?" Enterprise asked, referring to herself and Belfast.

"Excuse me? You two were on the opposing side during the last battle. Did you really think command would allow you to operate warships by yourselves?" Bonnet asked with a stern frown.

"Nothing I can do about it, sorry," Rackham shook his head.

"I guess that was expected," Enterprise sighed. Though she was hesitant about fighting on the side of her former enemies, she was also a warship at heart, and she did not want to sit on the sidelines either.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to sail again soon," Rackham encouraged her.

"But speaking of the next battle, where exactly is it? And who are we fighting?" Bismarck asked.

Clearing his throat, Commander Bonnet prepared to give the briefing. "A large space fleet consisting of warships from the colony of Mars were spotted sailing towards Juipter's moon, Io. This is the biggest strike force that the Joint Galactic Committee has sortied in a year, and it indicates that they are completely serious about taking this objective. If they manage to seize Io, then they have a forward base that they can use to launch raids and attacks on the Jupiter colonies… That is the disadvantage that Jupiter has with its many moons. We need to repel the invasion force before they can gain a foothold in our territory."

"So it's just one enemy fleet? Doesn't the Outer Reach have more planets, and bigger ones at that? Why can't you guys just field an even bigger fleet?" Jean Bart asked.

"Hm…? So it seems you weren't programmed with every last detail of the war and our situation," Commander Bonnet assumed after hearing that question. "Yes, the Outer Reach has more planets, but it is actually the Joint Galactic Committee that has the bigger population. They have about eight billion people while we only have five billion, and correspondingly, their military is bigger than ours. Mars itself is their biggest colony, and the only planet in the solar system with a larger population is Earth."

"Jupiter is still going to sortie a decently-sized fleet, but unlike the last battle, we're going be at a numbers disadvantage," Rackham added. "But we have you girls now, so I'm sure we'll be fine!"

"We were discussing this earlier, but how do you know that the enemy does not have any ship girls of their own?" Bismarck pointed out.

Rackham sighed. "Yes, I already thought of that possibility, and I think it is very likely. If the White Forces had ship girls, then I'm sure the regular military of the JGC has some too, and their presence might even be what prompted the JGC to break the stalemate and go on the offensive. We'll just have to account for them in our battle plans."

"And what are you going to do when we run into them? Are you going to sink them?" Enterprise asked, her voice tense.

"Sink them?" Rackham repeated, incredulous. "You think I would waste something as valuable as a ship girl like that? Trust me, I'll do everything in my power to capture them rather than kill them."

"Then it seems we are of the same mind, Captain!" Littorio grinned. "Personally, I look forward to working with you!"

"Haha! Likewise, Littorio," Rackham returned. His yellow eyes seemed to burn with an otherworldly delight. "This is just the beginning, after all…"


	5. The Fires of Jupiter I

**12/04, GCY 320**

**1200 hours**

**Io Colony, Grand Jupiter Reich**

"There it is," Rackham pointed out the forward bridge windows from where he sat on his chair overlooking the bridge.

Enterprise and Belfast followed his finger to see a small yellow dot in the distance. Of course, to their starboard side was the massive planet of Jupiter, a sight that amazed both ship girls when the _Soyuz _first sailed within view of it. Compared to Jupiter, the small moon Io seemed relatively unimpressive in the distance.

"Is it like our moon?" Enterprise asked Rackham, glancing at Io from the window.

"Our? Oh, you mean Earth's moon. No, not really," Rackham answered. "Io is - actually, you'll see when we get there."

The light cruiser approached the moon, sailing downwards until it entered Io's artificial atmosphere.

Enterprise and Belfast watched with fascination. Io was almost the polar opposite of Enceladus. Instead of an icy surface, Io had a yellowish, rocky landscape, broken only by the numerous cities scattered across the surface. What was interesting about these cities was that they were encapsulated by what appeared to be transparent domes. Io was also dotted with numerous mountains, their tall peaks jutting out from the moon's surface.

"Lots of mountains, huh?" Enterprise noted.

"Haha, mountains? Those are volcanoes," Rackham corrected her. "There's a reason why all the cities are covered by those domes. When those things erupt, the magma flows, ash, and smoke can cause serious damage even if you're far away. Those protective domes were built specifically to protect the cities from that."

Enterprise's eyes widened. "Wow… This seems like a dangerous planet to live on."

"It's a moon, not a planet, but yes, I suppose it's a bit dangerous," Rackham admitted. "Those domes have never failed to stop any harmful debris, though, so usually there's nothing to worry about. Let's just hope they don't get damaged during the battle."

"It's very interesting. It seems humanity really has come a long way since our time," Belfast noted, looking out the window with a hint of wonder sparkling in her eyes.

"Captain, communications from Jupiter Command," Commander Bonnet alerted him from down below. "It's been determined that the main target of the enemy fleet is the Chlodwig Military Base."

"Makes sense," Rackham nodded. He turned to Enterprise and Belfast. "That's the main military base on this moon, and it's often used as a staging point for forward operations for our fleet. Capturing it would be akin to capturing this moon completely since that's where most of our supplies and docks are."

"I see. So the objective is to defend this base?" Enterprise asked for confirmation.

"Essentially, yes. The enemy's main priority is going to be to capture it, but if they feel like they can't do that, they're going to try and destroy it at the very least, which would also be very bad for us," Rackham said. "So objective one is to prevent the enemy from capturing the base, which should be easy, and objective two is to stop them from destroying it once they fail to capture it. That's going to be a lot harder…"

"_Commander, this is Bismarck," _the blonde battleship's voice came to life over the command console. "_Jean Bart, Littorio, and I are all in position. Shall we return to your ship, or would you like us to remain aboard our own?"_

"Wait, what? You can leave your ships?" Rackham asked, confused.

"_Yes. We are able to give our vessels orders even if we are not physically aboard them, but we can only give simple commands such as 'fire at coordinate X' or 'sail towards coordinate Y.' For the situation right now where we are simply sailing in one direction and not in combat, we do not need to be aboard our ships," _Bismarck explained.

"Si_, it's getting kind of boring here! I'm completely alone on this huge spaceship," _Littorio complained.

"Oh… Well, in that case, yes, you can come back since right now we're pretty much just waiting for the rest of our fleet to get here. You're going to use shuttles from your ships to land on the _Soyuz_?" Rackham assumed.

"_That is correct. Those we can also integrate with and control perfectly while we are inside them," _Bismarck provided.

"All right. Then you are cleared to return," Rackham concluded, ending the communications and grinning at Enterprise and Belfast. "They must really miss you two, huh?"

"Yes, I'm sure that's it," Enterprise replied sarcastically, frowning.

"You should go and greet your comrades since I still have work to do here. They will be landing in holding docks - you know where that is, right? It's amidships," Rackham said.

"Yes, we are familiar with the layout of this vessel by now. We will make sure the battleships land safely. Good luck with your work, sir," Belfast bowed politely before leading Enterprise out of the bridge.

"You've sure taken to Captain Rackham pretty quickly," Enterprise noted once they were out of earshot.

Belfast glanced at her American partner. "I am only doing my duty as a maid. He is my new master, after all."

"If you say so," Enterprise replied unsurely.

"You still have your doubts about the Captain?" Belfast assumed.

"Sort of… You know, even though we are ship girls and we're supposed to obey our officers, it isn't easy to switch commanders so quickly," Enterprise admitted.

"I see. However, keep in mind that our primary objective is to fight the Sirens no matter which faction, group, or organization is commanding us," Belfast reminded her.

The two silver-haired women made it to the holding bay, where they waited for the shuttles containing the three battleships to fly in. A few minutes later, they saw the small capsules sailing through the air and growing bigger as they approached the _Soyuz_. Three thunks sounded as the shuttles entered into the ship's holding bay, and the doors to the capsules slid open at nearly the same time, revealing the Axis battleships.

"Ah~! It's good to be back!" Littorio stretched as she stepped out. "Oho! You two came to greet us? How nice!"

"Captain Rackham told us to," Enterprise stated bluntly.

"And I presume the Captain is on the bridge? I would like to know what the full battle plan is," Bismarck said, her icy blue eyes looking as serious as ever.

Jean Bart crossed her arms, an uncomfortable expression on her face. "Personally I'd like to know which ship girls the enemy's got with them… This battle could get ugly."

"Ugh, such pessimistic talk! Let's not fear the worst before the fight has even begun, all right?" Littorio proposed.

"It is necessary to be prepared," Bismarck said. "Though we may have made up our minds about what our plan will be going forward, it is of course possible that things will not go the way we want them to, and that one of us will be sunk or the enemy's ship girls will be sunk before we can get to them."

The five ship girls stood in awkward silence after that. It was an uncomfortable thought, but not one that they could take lightly. After all, they were not in control of events, and they were at the mercy of their human commanders. That went doubly so for the enemy force's ship girls, who must have had their command modules activated so that they could not disobey their commanders no matter what.

Bismarck finally broke the silence. "I may as well give my report to the Captain now, though there isn't much to report in the first place."

"Ah, wait," Littorio stopped the German. "If we've got nothing to do right now, how about we go collect information on Captain Rackham? Remember we thought that we should try and get a better understanding of our commander? Now could be our chance."

"Yes, we did say that, but how are we going to do that? It's not like we can just go up to him and ask him," Enterprise frowned.

Littorio grinned. "Why not? I'm sure he would be willing to share!"

"Is that so? I wonder where that confidence comes from."

The ship girls almost jumped at the sudden voice. They turned to see Commander Bonnet, the ship's executive officer, enter the holding bay. He wore his usual stern expression, and his hard eyes stared disapprovingly from behind his sleek glasses.

"I take it you weren't discussing anything seditious in here," Bonnet glared at them.

"No, of course not! You heard us. We were just wondering about the Captain's background," Littorio told him.

Bonnet didn't seem any happier at being told that. "And why is that? Do you mistrust him?"

"N-No, it's just that -"

"We were simply curious," Bismarck took over for Littorio. "It's natural to want to know more about one's commander, especially if we are placing our lives in his hands, is it not?"

"I suppose it is," Bonnet conceded. "However, you're mistaken if you think that Captain Rackham is going to tell you much about himself beyond the superficial. Though he may not act like it, he is a rather secretive man."

"Why is that?" Enterprise asked.

"Who knows?" Bonnet shook his head. "But regardless, I cannot fault you for wanting to know about him. In fact, when I was first assigned to be his first mate, I did my own research on him. I didn't find much, but I can share what I do know with you if you would like."

"You're willing to do that? I thought you were Captain Rackham's lapdog or something," Jean Bart said, surprised.

Bonnet frowned deeply at that. "No, I am not his 'lapdog.' I follow his orders without question the majority of the time because he is my superior officer and the chain of command exists for a reason, but do not mistake that for any sort of strange devotion to him. In any case, I don't know anything about him that is harmful or is supposed to be secret. You can find most of this yourself if you had the time and maybe a bit of extra clearance needed to access a few of the files, but none of it is sensitive information."

"Then we would greatly appreciate it if you would share your knowledge with us, sir," Belfast said.

"I see no harm in it," Bonnet nodded. "As you were told, the Captain was born on the moon Titan, as was I. It is Saturn's largest moon and its most prosperous colony. Captain Rackham was born twenty-eight years ago to a relatively upper-class family. Ten years ago, he enrolled in the prestigious Zhukov Academy for Military Arts and Sciences, which is Saturn's premiere military institution. I am also a graduate of this school. Captain Rackham graduated near the top of his class, and he chose to study medicine as his specialty. After six years in the academy, he was commissioned and assigned to an expeditionary fleet, where he was made the chief medical officer. That may sound like a large responsibility for a freshly-commissioned officer, but it is relatively common for top performers from the top universities to be given positions like this."

"Hm, so he really is smart after all," Littorio noted.

"Yes. That is one thing I have certainly confirmed since joining his crew," Bonnet agreed. "However, for this first assignment, Captain Rackham was responsible mainly for coordinating the fleet's medical operations and commanding the hospital ship that sailed with the fleet. He was not expected to fight or develop battle strategies, as he does now."

"And this fleet… Its purpose wasn't to fight the Joint Galactic Committee, was it?" Enterprise asked.

Bonnet offered a wry smile. "I see you've figured it out, Enterprise. This expeditionary fleet was meant to search for and gather information on the Sirens… In fact, it was the first of its kind. At this point, neither the Joint Galactic Committee nor the Outer Reach knew much about the Sirens, and we saw them as more of a sideshow than a real threat. That is why we sent such a small and underprepared fleet to face them."

From Bonnet's choice of words, Bismarck could guess what happened next. "I take it the majority of that fleet didn't make it back?"

"That is correct." Bonnet closed his eyes, a frustrated frown appearing momentarily before his expression returned to its usual stern look. "To be exact, every single sailor and ship in that fleet was destroyed… All of them except for Captain Rackham. He was found unconscious and alone in one of the ship's escape pods, the pod's coordinates set for a return flight to Saturn."

"Ah, so he escaped before his ship had been destroyed?" Littorio assumed.

"This is where things begin to get strange," Bonnet replied. "It is highly doubtful that Captain Rackham was the only sailor who was fast enough to reach the escape pods and not be shot down by the Sirens. Furthermore, the escape pods only have enough supplies and power to last for two weeks at most, but Captain Rackham was found a month after the battle."

"What happened during that month? Did he land somewhere else and resupply?" Enterprise guessed.

"Who knows?" Bonnet shrugged. "Either way, once Captain Rackham returned to Saturn, the military immediately seized him and forcibly woke him from his unconscious state… There are no public records of what happened after that - it is unknown what occurred in the two months between Captain Rackham's return and his eventual re-implementation to the Outer Reach Fleet. All I know is that when he was reinstated, he received a double promotion to commander and was switched from the medical corps to the newly-formed privateer fleet."

"So in total, there are three months of unaccounted time where nobody knows what the Captain was doing?" Jean Bart asked.

"More or less. I'm sure there are a few people in the government and upper echelons of the military who know what happened," Bonnet said.

"Hm… This is all very interesting, if a bit unexpected," Bismarck crossed her arms. "Commander Bonnet, have you ever tried asking the Captain directly what happened?"

"Of course I have. He says he does not remember what happened during the one month he was gone after the battle against the Sirens, and he reports that he spent the two months after returning to Saturn in a gulag, where he was interrogated about what happened during and after the battle. That is the most he will say."

"And that's believable to you?" Jean Bart frowned.

Bonnet sighed. "Not fully, no. I don't doubt that he did spend some time in a gulag being interrogated, but I don't think that even our government would subject him to that for two months. Something else was clearly going on there, and it must be related to what he experienced during that one month he was MIA after the battle. Regardless, the Captain doesn't seem to have any interest in sharing any of that with us, so this is the most we can find out by ourselves. I just thought you all should have the right to know."

Commander Bonnet left before anyone could ask any further questions, but the ship girls were too busy processing all that information to do so anyway. Besides, it was unlikely Bonnet could tell them any more than he already did.

"So it seems the Captain is a more mysterious figure than we had previously thought," Littorio finally said.

"Indeed. Though I am not sure what any of that information means," Bismarck furrowed her brow in thought.

"Do you think…" Enterprise started hesitantly. "Do you think that Captain Rackham was with the Sirens during that month following the battle?"

"Oh? What was he doing with them?" Littorio asked curiously, excited by the interesting prospect.

"What use could the Sirens have for a human? As far as we know, they are only interested in killing them," Jean Bart pointed out.

"The fact remains that he could not have survived in a single escape pod for that long without outside assistance," Bismarck said. "The Sirens surely couldn't have been the ones to provide that assistance, could they…?"

"It seems to go against everything the Sirens stand for to do such a thing," Belfast argued. "Furthermore, Master is an enemy of the Sirens now, which would be strange if they really did save his life like you are suggesting. Perhaps it was a passing merchant vessel or even a JGC ship that resupplied his escape pod?"

"There are a lot of things wrong with either one of those theories too, but yes, I suppose you are right that it is ridiculous to think that the Sirens would help a human for no reason," Bismarck decided.

"I doubt the Outer Reach would've let him back into the military, much less promoted him, if that were the case," Enterprise added. "I guess we'll never know the truth…"

"We could always ask him! Maybe he will give us a different answer than the one he gave Commander Bonnet," Littorio grinned.

Jean Bart gave the Italian a disapproving look. "And just why would he do that…?"

"Because we are beautiful women! Who can resist them, right?" Littorio nodded at her own words. "Come, let us go! We won't know for sure until we try."

Littorio went off on her own before anyone could stop her, so the other ship girls had no choice but to follow. When they got to the bridge, they found Captain Rackham sitting in his usual seat above the battlestations, his coat half on and half off as usual. Commander Bonnet was down below, giving orders to some of the bridge staff.

"Oh, you're back," Rackham greeted. "Just in time, actually. We received new orders. Take a look."

The ship girls gathered around the console by Rackham's chair, where the screen projected a 3D topographic image of the moon Io.

"The enemy fleet is around here right now." Rackham pointed to a cluster of red dots floating just outside of the moon. "We are over here."

Using his fingers, Rackham zoomed in on the surface of the moon until they could see the individual cities and mountains fairly clearly. Now the ship girls could see groups of green dots, each of them separated by a few hundred kilometers. He pointed to four green dots that were stationed about fifty kilometers away from what was labeled as Chlodwig Military Base.

"There's been a slight change in plans. Instead of joining together as one fleet, they've decided to split us up into small groups in order to be better spaced out. As you can see on this map, the job of our group is to act as the main line of defense for the military base here."

"That seems like an important task. They really assigned it to us?" Jean Bart questioned.

"Of course! You three are the most powerful assets we have, after all," Rackham reminded them. "With the accuracy of a battleship-class ship girl, we can station you right next to the base and still have you hit targets from long range."

"Hm, and here I thought we were going to be out there on the frontlines," Littorio crossed her arms, disappointed.

"This _is _the frontlines… And isn't this what you battleships used to do anyway? Shell the enemy from long distance?" Rackham said, confused.

"_Si_, but I wanted to ram into enemy spacecraft like you did to Enterprise! That looks way more fun!" Littorio grinned.

"It wasn't fun for me. It felt like I was being violated," Enterprise sighed.

"Sir, have you been able to confirm whether the enemy fleet has any ship girls among them?" Bismarck asked, bringing them back to the main issue.

Rackham shooks his head. "There's no way to tell based on appearances alone. I think we're only going to find out once the battle starts because the ship girls are going to be vastly outperforming the rest of the fleet."

"It seems it may be difficult to capture these ship girls like we originally planned," Belfast noted.

"Yeah, especially with the Mars Raider Fleet getting in the way. For now, we should focus on protecting this base. Even if we can't capture their ship girls today, we will get another chance in the future as long as we survive," Rackham said. "Regardless, the strategy for this battle is going to be very fluid and is going to rely heavily on the ability of our fleet's individual squadron commanders. Every captain in this fleet is a capable officer, but even I think this plan is a bit reckless…"

"Having doubts, sir?" Littorio smirked.

"Hah! Don't worry about me. Just focus on doing your part out there," Rackham replied. "Anyway, I know you three just got back, but it's time to return to your ships. The enemy fleet is approaching."

The three battleships saluted before heading out of the bridge.

"Even I'm getting sort of nervous now," Enterprise admitted after the battleships had left. "I would feel much better if I were actually out there fighting instead of having to sit here and watch…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll make it out of this alive somehow," Rackham said off-handedly.

At those words, Enterprise couldn't help but think back to what Commander Bonnet told them about Captain Rackham's miraculous survival against the Sirens.

"Say, uh, Captain," Enterprise started unsurely, shooting a glance at Belfast. "Before commanding the _Soyuz_… What did you used to do?"

Rackham raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "I was a sailor in the Outer Reach Fleet, of course. The only thing that's changed is that I was promoted a few times. Why are you asking?"

"I was just curious. If you're going to be our commander, then we should know a bit about you, right?" Enterprise said, using the same justification they had come up with earlier.

"All right, if you say so," Rackham replied noncommittally. "To be more specific, I was in the medical corps. I used to be a doctor… Well, I still am, I suppose. "

_That lines up with what Commander Bonnet told us, _Enterprise thought. "Okay… And now you're commanding a pirate ship?"

"_Da_, funny how things change, no?"

Rackham didn't say any more than that, and Enterprise wasn't sure if she should push him for more information. In the end, her decision was made for her when a transmission came in and prevented her from asking any further questions.

"_Greetings to all captains. This is Vice Admiral Henszlein, the overall commander for this operation," _the voice began. "_My apologies for getting in touch with you so late. However, I see you all have received my orders and are in the proper positions. The Mars Raider Fleet is expected to come within firing range of our most forward positions in about ten minutes, so the battle will begin very soon. Given the unorthodox and rapid attacks that the Mars Fleets are known for, I have set up our formation so that we can react to their tactics in real time. This means that each of you will have a great deal of independence in terms of your tactics and movement. I have the utmost faith in all of you, and I have no doubt that we will emerge victorious. Good luck."_

"Okay. Vice Admiral Henszlein has an interesting approach to things," Rackham observed as the transmission ended.

Just then, another transmission came in, this time a private one directly to the _Soyuz. _

"_Gruppe Caesar, come in," _Vice Admiral Henszlein's voice sounded through the console again.

"Oh, is that us?" Rackham wondered, pressing a button on the console's touch screen to allow him to reply. "Sir. Captain Rackham of the _Soyuz _reporting in."

"_Captain, good afternoon. I am calling you privately because I was informed by Admiral Teach that your squadron contains three special battleships. If what he told me is correct, then I suspect that they will play a central role in this coming fight. That is why I have stationed your squad to directly defend the base."_

"Yes, sir. These units are far more powerful than standard battleships. However, it is likely that the enemy also possesses ships of similar strength," Rackham informed him, not sure of how much detail he should go into.

"_Yes. They are piloted by 'ship girls,' I was told. I'm afraid I still don't fully understand the concept, but I do know that we need to be wary of them. That is another reason why I have set up our formation in the way I did, because we need to be able to move around once we figure out which of the enemy ships are manned by these ship girls," _Henszlein said.

"Right. It should be obvious which of the enemy vessels contain ship girls once the battle starts. We have three on our side, so hopefully the enemy ship girls do not outnumber ours."

"_The Mars Raiders themselves are also not to be taken lightly. This will be a difficult fight,"_ Henszlein said, the grimace palpable in his tone. "_I suppose all we can do for now is prepare ourselves… I will contact you and the rest of the fleet if major adjustments to the strategy need to be made. Good luck, Captain, and may your ship girls turn the tide in our favor."_

As the vice admiral ended the transmission, Rackham leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Seems like there's a lot of pressure on our squad for this operation."

"Master, if you are feeling stressed, I would be glad to massage your shoulders for you," Belfast offered.

"Really? Thanks!" Rackham accepted.

Enterprise frowned as Belfast stood behind the captain and began massaging his shoulders. "Should we really be doing this right before a battle…?"

"Of course. A commander mustn't be too tense, after all," Belfast smiled.

"Yes, you make a good point," Rackham agreed, a blissful look on his face as Belfast expertly went to work. "Ah… Whoever programmed you certainly knew what they were doing, Belfast."

"Captain," Commander Bonnet started as he walked up the stairs to where Rackham was seated. He paused and blinked when he saw Belfast giving Rackham a shoulder massage, but he cleared his throat and continued. "Er, sir, I think we should go over a brief battle plan before hostilities start in spite of what Vice Admiral Henszlein said. It cannot hurt to be too prepared."

"If you insist," Rackham reluctantly assented. "What did you have in mind?"

"Firstly, we should look at the map and take note of the position of the various squadrons," Bonnet said as he pulled up the hologram of Io.

On the hologram, there were five separate friendly units, or _gruppen_ as the Jupiter Space Fleets liked to call them, on display. The first squadron, Gruppe Anton, was in the most forward position, and it was stationed closest to the approaching Martian fleet. However, it was not defending any important targets like a city or a base. The next three squadrons were farther behind Gruppe Anton, and they were positioned along the same latitude lines. Rackham's squadron, Gruppe Caesar, was positioned in the middle and was guarding the main target of the enemy fleet. From his ship, Rackham could see the faint, distant outlines of the spaceships of Gruppe Bruno to his left, and to his right and slightly closer was Gruppe Dora. Gruppe Bruno, which Vice Admiral Henszlein was a part of, was positioned to defend a major city on Io, while Gruppe Dora was positioned in front of another military base. Finally, Gruppe Emil made up the rearguard just in case the Martians tried to attack the fleet from the back, and it was positioned a couple hundred kilometers behind Gruppe Caesar. All of the squadrons were operating at the same altitude, and they were positioned on the very edge of Io's atmosphere, the twilight of outer space visible if they looked up.

"From this view, this appears to be a fairly thin defense," Bonnet noted, not liking the look of the formation.

"As the admiral said, it's designed to be porous," Rackham supplied. "You can see that Gruppe Anton isn't really defending anything important, so the Martians probably aren't going to bother sending a lot of ships to attack that squadron. Instead, what they will want to do is simply bypass Gruppe Anton, ignore Bruno and Dora, and go straight for Chlodwig Military Base. If they can do that unencumbered, they'll easily overwhelm us even if we have ship girls here, which is why the formation needed to be made this way so that the other squadrons could sail over and help us if need be."

"Then wouldn't it have been more effective just to put a huge number of ships to guard the base in the first place?" Enterprise wondered.

Rackham shook his head. "If we did that, then the enemy would just ignore us and go and attack all the undefended cities and other military bases on the moon. Doing that would not only hurt the Outer Reach's resources, but it would also be very bad for PR even if we ended up winning this battle. Think of how many civilians would die. We had to set up our formation like this because it forces the JGC fleet to take the initiative, allowing us to react accordingly instead of just blindly guessing at what they will do."

"Is there any sort of strategy we can come up with before the Martian fleet gets here?" Bonnet asked again. "I understand that our overall plan will need to be flexible based on what the enemy's movements are like, but it would still be prudent to think about how we should defend this position."

"I suppose so," Rackham agreed. He pressed a few buttons on the console touchscreen, connecting him to Littorio, Bismarck, and Jean Bart. "You three, listen up - I'm going to go over the formation for this battle. We're going to be positioned in a triangle shape with the _Soyuz _in the middle of the triangle. Bismarck, you're going to be the tip of the triangle since you have the most combat experience. Littorio, you are going to be on the left side, and Jean Bart, you're on the right… Like this."

Rackham drew a basic image of the formation on the touch screen and then sent it to all three battleships.

"_I have received your image, sir. I will move to position myself in front of your ship, then," _Bismarck told him.

Littorio and Jean Bart moved their ships as well, and soon enough, the four spaceships were positioned in the triangle formation, with Bismarck acting as the point of the triangle and facing the direction of the rapidly-encroaching enemy fleet.

"All right. This way Bismarck can provide some offense for our squadron, with Littorio and Jean Bart supporting her from her two flanks," Rackham said, zooming in on the hologram projection so that their four-ship squadron was in the center of the image.

"_Alert to all ships! The enemy has opened fire!" _a message came in from the captain in charge of Gruppe Anton.

Rackham crossed his legs and rested his cheek on his fist as he looked out the main bridge windows, a neutral expression on his face. Gruppe Anton was far enough ahead of his squadron that he couldn't see or hear anything, but the red dots on the hologram were now clearly within range to begin firing upon Gruppe Anton.

Five minutes of intense silence passed among the bridge crew of the _Soyuz _before dark green floating objects appeared on the horizon.

"All ships, fire at will," Rackham spoke through the console to his three battleships.

A minute later, he watched as Bismarck fired her main cannon, her blue laser screaming off into the distance and towards the JCG ships. After a few seconds, there was a visible explosion on the horizon, a purple cloud of flames lighting up Io's upper atmosphere.

"_Enemy destroyer sunk," _Bismarck stated coolly.

Rackham gave a low whistle. "Still just as impressive as the first time I saw it."

Before the _Soyuz_'s crew could even think about celebrating the destruction of the enemy vessel, a small, blue dot appeared in the distance. Within a second, that dot suddenly grew larger and larger, and all Rackham could do was widen his eyes in surprise as the enemy's cannon shot slammed right into the _Soyuz_, threading the needle between Bismarck and Littorio and hitting the light cruiser in the middle of the triangle.

The _Soyuz_'s shield gave out, and alarms started ringing all throughout the light cruiser as the impact of the shot threw Rackham out of his chair and sent all of the bridge staff and the two ship girls to the floor as well.

"_PREDUPREZHDENIYE. SHCHITY NIZKIYE,"_ the loudspeakers of the ship blared over and over again.

Rackham groggily got to his feet, picking himself up with one hand on his chair for support. "_Blyad_… That must have been a shot from an enemy battleship to take out our shields so easily…"

Enterprise and Belfast got up as well, both of them looking slightly dazed.

"... We were hit?" Enterprise asked, gingerly getting to her feet.

"Looks like it," Rackham frowned. The rest of the bridge staff rapidly tried to recover and immediately went back to their consoles, checking for damage.

"_Pozhar! Pozhar! Pozhar! Pozhar!" _a new alarm started to warn.

"What do those alarms mean?" Belfast asked concernedly.

"They mean we've taken a lot of damage," Rackham grunted. "Hey! Position the ship so that it's directly behind Bismarck!"

As the bridge staff hurried to carry out their captain's order, Rackham sat back in his seat, looking a lot more disheveled as the alarms continued to annoyingly yell over the already-pandemonious bridge.

"_Captain, are you alive?" _Littorio's voice came through the console.

Rackham could see Bismarck and Jean Bart begin firing back at the enemy. "Yes, somehow. Our shields protected us for just long enough."

"_Very good, but you are in bad shape, sir," _Littorio continued. "_Your portside is on fire, and there is a large dent in your ship. Any more hits like that and you will be sunk."_

"Status report on the damage!" Rackham barked down to the bridge.

"Sir! Our plasma is leaking and the automatic fire control systems can't keep up without compromising power to the engine!" Lieutenant Roberts shouted back up to him, not doing well to hide the worry in his voice.

"Great," Rackham replied sourly as he watched an enemy shot bounce off Bismarck's shield.

Commander Bonnet came rushing up the stairs. "Sir, we can't hold out like this much longer. We'll have to land in Chlodwig."

"God damn it, the battle's only just begun," Rackham cursed. However, he knew that Bonnet was ultimately correct.

He patched through to the three battleships who were still fighting. "Listen up, you three! The _Soyuz _has taken heavy damage and we can no longer stay afloat without risking a plasma explosion, so we're going to have to land in the military base down below. You three stay and defend our position; I will be watching the battle from the base and will continue giving commands."

The three battleships gave replies of acknowledgement, though their first priority was concentrating on the battle in front of them.

"Descend and land at the base below. Let them know we're coming in for repairs," Rackham told the bridge staff.

As the bridge staff got to work, Rackham could only sit there helplessly, his yellow eyes burning with anger and defeat. The _Soyuz _slowly began to descend, and the alarms were manually turned off. Now only the chatter of the bridge staff was present as they communicated with each other and with the soldiers on the base below.

A connection then came in from Jean Bart. "_Captain, the ship that managed to hit you… It was probably a ship girl."_

"That would make sense considering that was an almost impossible shot to pull off," Rackham replied. "Did you get any information on her? Do you know her name?"

"_No, only that she's a battleship-class. Luckily she seems to be the only ship girl in the enemy fleet, at least among the ships that are attacking our squadron. I can't say if any more have shown up on different parts of the battlefield."_

That reminded Rackham that he had completely forgotten about the rest of the squadrons. He quickly pulled up the hologram from before, which displayed information about the battle in addition to giving real time updates about the positions of each vessel in combat. With a grimace, he saw that half the ships in Gruppe Anton had been sunk. Fortunately, Bruno and Dora seemed to be holding up well, and Gruppe Emil had begun to move to reinforce his squadron. From what the battlefield looked like right now, it appeared that the Martian Fleet had decided to concentrate most of its forces on punching through Gruppe Anton, and some of those forces had just sailed past Anton to attack his Gruppe Caesar directly. The enemy had still sent enough ships to distract Bruno and Dora so that they couldn't send reinforcements to him, but at least Gruppe Emil was on the way.

"Landing in five minutes," Bonnet told Rackham.

Rackham nodded, then got back on the communications with his three ship girls. "Whenever you get a moment, connect your visual feeds with mine. This will make it easier for me to give orders."

To his surprise, the ship girls connected immediately after he said that.

_Seems their systems are quite effective at multitasking. A regular crew would've needed someone to manually input the commands for that, _Rackham thought.

The three video feeds from the battleships appeared on the screen of the console in front of him. Enterprise and Belfast watched with fascination as Bismarck, Littorio, and Jean Bart took aim at the enemy ships and fired at them. At this point, the ship girls had destroyed a good number of the enemy spaceships, but there were also a few destroyers and light cruisers who were clearly just trying to evade the shots and get closer to the base without really fighting back. Given that the ship girls were battleships, they struggled to keep up with the faster and smaller ships, but the main thorn in their side preventing them from completely annihilating the enemy squadron was the sole enemy battleship that was still afloat. This had to be the one commanded by the enemy ship girl, as it could expertly evade shots while simultaneously landing hits upon the shields of Rackham's ship girls.

_Should I tell them to prioritize disabling the enemy ship girl…? But if I do that, then those hostile destroyers and light cruisers will slip right by and have free reign to attack the military base, _Rackham thought, trying to figure a way out of the dilemma.

Before he could come to any kind of conclusion, the _Soyuz _landed in the docks of Chlodwig Military Base.

_Looks like I'll have to deal with things here on the ground first, _Rackham sighed to himself. _Bismarck, Littorio, Jean Bart… Hold on for a bit longer._


	6. The Fires of Jupiter II

**12/04, GCY 320**

**1300 hours**

**Chlodwig Military Base, Io Colony, Grand Jupiter Reich**

"We've landed, sir," Lieutenant Roberts told Rackham for confirmation.

The _Soyuz _had parked itself in the land base's docks, still on fire and heavily damaged.

"All right. Let the ground crew know where the damage is," Rackham ordered before going back to the radar and visual feeds displayed on the console in front of him.

Enterprise and Belfast looked on along with the captain as their three battleship-type ship girls continued to trade long-range shots with the enemy ship girl. Neither of the four ship girls were scoring any hits on each other, but it was clear that the enemy was achieving what they wanted; as Bismarck, Jean Bart, and Littorio were tied up with the enemy ship girl, numerous smaller JGC craft were steadily approaching the military base. They took care not to fire upon the ship girls and attract their attention, though the ship girls were too busy to deal with them anyway.

"Damn… If we were still operational, we could at least take care of those smaller spaceships. I hope this base has its anti-air defenses ready," Rackham crossed his arms as he watched the screens.

"Sir, the engineering crew is requesting entry," Lieutenant Roberts said.

"Let them on," Rackham replied.

A few minutes later, a handful of engineers rushed into the bridge. Most of them went down below to talk with Bonnet and Roberts while one of them came up to Rackham.

"You're the captain? I am Major Michels, the chief engineer," the man introduced with a salute.

Unlike Rackham's dark red naval uniform, Michels wore gray and black military garb, the standard colors of the Grand Jupiter Reich. He was a man of slight build with light brown hair and intelligent green eyes, and though he was the chief engineer, he was even younger than Rackham was.

"Captain Rackham. A pleasure," Rackham introduced.

Major Michels cast a curious glance at Belfast and Enterprise before returning to the situation at hand. "Captain, from a cursory look, it seems your ship has taken quite a lot of damage and is on fire in multiple spots. I would strongly recommend evacuating everyone until my crew can get the fires under control."

Rackham reluctantly took his eyes off the screens. "If it's really necessary…"

"It is," Michels reiterated.

"Fine," Rackham let out a sigh.

"I will send out the order for all hands to temporarily leave the ship," Bonnet said, overhearing the conversation.

"_Spasibo_," Rackham replied. He stood up and turned to Enterprise and Belfast. "Let's go, you two. The command center at this base should have full visuals of the battlefield."

The sailors began disembarking from the burning _Soyuz _in quite the orderly fashion. Though they were pirates, they were also instilled with the harsh values of the Soviet Satellites of Saturn, and orders given from above were not to be questioned.

Rackham and the two ship girls made it out to the docks, where many of the sailors were simply milling around, having been given no further orders. The captain took a moment to survey his ship's burning flank before grabbing one of the gray-clad soldiers stationed on the base.

"Where is the command room?" Rackham asked.

"It is just down that way, sir," the soldier pointed down a hallway which led away from the open dock area. "But right now, the General and his staff are busy -"

"Take me there," Rackham ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"As you say, sir," the soldier was forced to agree.

Rackham, Enterprise, and Belfast followed the soldier away from the docks and into the base proper. The captain felt slightly bad about leaving Bonnet to deal with the ship's repair and keeping the sailors organized, but he needed to see what the three ship girls still fighting were up to.

"Here we are, sir," the soldier stopped in front of a door, which was guarded on two sides by two more armed soldiers.

"Right, thanks," Rackham waved the soldier off, then turned to the guards. "May I enter, gentlemen?"

The guards glanced at each other and then at the epaulettes on Rackham's half-worn military coat. They stepped aside and let him through, though they wore puzzled looks as the ship girls followed him in.

Like most of the command rooms in these types of bases, this one was fairly dark and spacious, lit up only by the blue light emanating from the various computers and screens in the room. On the large main interface taking up the front of the room like some sort of movie theater was a display of the various battlefields across Io. Rackham saw his three battleships on one of the views, still fighting above the military base.

"Excuse me, who are you?" a lieutenant asked, surprised at the sudden appearance of Rackham and the two ship girls.

"I'm the captain of the ship that just docked. Surely you know about that?" Rackham frowned.

"Ah, yes, my apologies, sir. The general is right this way."

Rackham had no interest in meeting this general, but he supposed it couldn't be helped. He followed the lieutenant to the center of the room, where a man dressed in the gray and black officer's uniform sat upon an expensive-looking leather chair in the middle of a raised platform overlooking the room, not unlike the bridge of a spaceship. He had gray hair, piercing blue eyes, and a strong chin, and he was busy focusing intently on the main screen in front of him until Rackham arrived.

"Captain Rackham of the _Soyuz_," Rackham introduced himself with a salute.

The general returned the salute. "Major General Wichmann. _Willkommen_, Captain. I assume those two women are the famous ship girls?"

"Yes, sir. They are Enterprise, an aircraft carrier, and Belfast, a light cruiser," Rackham said. "The other three ship girls under my command are currently fighting above this very base."

"Indeed. No wonder they have managed to hold on for so long," Wichmann turned his gaze back towards the big screen, particular the portion which was showing the three battleships. "Regardless, they are not enough on their own. A few enemy vessels have managed to bypass their screen and will be descending upon this base shortly. I have tried requesting assistance from the other groups, but they all say that they cannot spare any reinforcements. It seems we are being hit hard from every direction; as expected from the Martians."

_Still, protecting this base is the main priority. Are they really being beaten so badly that they can't spare anything? _Rackham thought with a grimace. This battle was not going well thus far.

"Have your anti-air defenses engaged any targets yet?" Rackham asked, wondering if any of the enemies had come close enough yet.

"Not yet. They seem to be keeping their distance," Wichmann said.

"Keeping their distance? But why…" Rackham's eyes then lit up. "The Mars Raiders."

The general cursed. "Of course. Yes, the Raiders would be the perfect tool to take over this base without having to destroy it…"

"The enemy has likely launched the small attack craft that the Raiders ride in from the destroyers that managed to get close to the base. No wonder they weren't detected by the anti-air sentries," Rackham said.

"General! An urgent transmission from the gate guards!" the lieutenant cried out.

"Patch them through," Wichmann said frustratedly, as if he already knew what he was about to hear.

The radio transmission came in from the console built into the general's chair. All Rackham could make out from it was the sound of laser rifles firing and people frantically shouting in German.

"What were they saying?" Rackham asked.

"They said the Raiders are here," Wichmann frowned heavily. "It seems they got through. Our only hope of saving this base now rests on the shoulders of our guards stationed here."

_Great, _Rackham thought sarcastically. He had no confidence that a handful of soldiers could stand up to a force as vicious and battle-hardened as the Mars Raiders.

"Uh, sorry, but who exactly are these Raiders?" Enterprise asked, not sure what was going on.

"To put it simply, they are a group of soldiers from Mars trained specifically in fast-attack tactics and ground combat," Rackham told her. "They are the best ground troops that the Joint Galactic Committee has to offer… We would need a squad of Spetsnaz or Shutzstaffel to even stand a chance against them."

"Hmph. Don't underestimate my soldiers, Captain," General Wichmann said. "We will not be defeated so easily… But anyway, we actually _do _happen to have a small contingent of Schutzstaffel stationed here. We didn't come entirely unprepared for this scenario, after all."

"I hope you are right sir," Rackham replied. "Is there a way to contact my sailors? My marines should be of help since they have extensive ground combat training given our ship's role."

General Wichmann turned to the lieutenant who was still standing by. "Contact the Schutzstaffel and the Soviet marines and tell them to prepare for combat… Captain, will you be heading back to your ship? I would strongly suggest not leaving this fortified room until the combat has ended, but it is up to you."

"Actually, there is still something I need to do here. Look, sir," Rackham pointed at the portion of the screen which was showing the airspace above the base.

Bismarck, Jean Bart, and Littorio were still engaged in combat. There were quite a few destroyers darting around them and taking potshots whenever they could, but the real threat was the enemy battleship. It was plainly obvious to anyone watching this stream that the four battleships were out of the ordinary, as they were pulling off turning maneuvers and taking shots with such a style and accuracy that would have been impossible for any human-based crew.

"_Scheisse_… I've never seen anything like this before," Wichmann stared in wonder. "I presume you want to continue monitoring this situation? Go down to that console over there. It is already connected to Gruppe Caesar's communications, so you should be able to see what is going on and talk to those battleships from there."

* * *

Bismarck stood on the bridge of her empty battleship, her resolute blue eyes fixed out the bridge windows. Though physically she was looking straight ahead from inside the battleship, she could actually see everything from the exterior of her spaceship as well; it was as if the battleship were her body. Right now, she was flying above the skies of Io, facing down the enemy ship girl as they continued to trade long-distance shots.

"_This is going nowhere," _Jean Bart's voice sounded in Bismarck's head. Though in reality she was speaking through their ships' communication systems, Bismarck felt as if she were hearing the French woman's voice directly in her mind.

"_It's because she won't come any closer! I think we may have to take the fight to her," _Littorio suggested.

"We cannot do that. Captain Rackham ordered us to defend the military base, so we cannot leave this post," Bismarck said.

"_Well, right now we're not achieving anything. These annoying enemy destroyers are having their fun shooting at us while we're still trying to hit that battleship. I'm actually surprised that their destroyers haven't already bombed the hell out of the base," _Jean Bart stated.

"The Captain did say that the enemy wanted to preserve the base if possible. Perhaps they are simply trying to help the enemy ship girl sink us?" Bismarck posited.

"_Huh… They're not doing a very good job, then," _Littorio said.

"_Yeah. Their shots aren't strong enough to penetrate our armor unless they hit us in vital spots, and these human-piloted ships aren't accurate enough to do that," _Jean Bart agreed. "_Even if they have the help of that ship girl, it's still four human-controlled destroyers and one ship girl versus three ship girls. Our side has the advantage."_

"_Then it makes sense why that enemy battleship is reluctant to approach us," _Littorio added.

"Right, but still, they must be stalling us here for a reason," Bismarck said, rubbing her chin in thought. "I think… Perhaps they have already launched an assault on the base using their army and are now waiting for the results of that battle?"

"_So you're saying they slipped in some ground forces behind our backs?" _Jean Bart said. "_I guess that very well could've happened since we were pretty distracted here. Can we communicate with the Captain somehow for confirmation?"_

"I already tried the _Soyuz_ but got no reply. I believe they may have evacuated the ship since it was on fire," Bismarck replied. "But that aside, there is a second theory I have for why they are stalling us, one that may potentially be even worse… Nobody ever said that the battleship we are fighting against right now is the only ship girl in their fleet. What if she is stalling because she is waiting for another ship girl to come and join her so that they can attack us head-on? What if there are more than two in their fleet?"

"_Haha! That doesn't sound like a fun prospect!" _Littorio chuckled nervously.

An uneasy silence hung between the three battleships, broken only by the sound of the enemy destroyers haphazardly continuing to fire upon them.

"_This is Captain Rackham. Can anyone read me?" _Rackham's voice suddenly broke in through the communications.

"We read you, sir," Bismarck said. "Is everything all right down there?"

"_Not really. The enemy has managed to land their ground forces in the base, so I don't know how long we can hold out here."_

_It's just as I feared, _Bismarck frowned. "I assume we cannot be of any help in the fight going on down there."

"_Unfortunately not. The enemy is already inside the base, so a huge spaceship won't be able to target them," _Rackham said. "_What about you? I'm looking at a drone feed of the battlefield, and it doesn't look like either side has made any progress."_

"We are at a stalemate. We think that the enemy is just stalling for time until they get confirmation that their ground forces have taken over the base," Bismarck told him.

"_That doesn't make any sense. You said it yourself: there is nothing you ship girls can do to influence the battle on the ground. Therefore, what's the point in the enemy stalling you? They must be waiting for reinforcements," _Rackham confirmed Bismarck's worst fear.

"_And I assume those 'reinforcements' will include a ship girl? It's clear that only a ship girl can fight against another ship girl, so it wouldn't make sense for them to be waiting for anything else," _Jean Bart said.

"_Yes. Soon you may lose the numbers advantage," _Rackham warned them. "_Here is what you need to do: charge the enemy battleship and sink or disable her before her reinforcements get here. Forget about the destroyers and the base."_

"_So we're just supposed to charge at her?" _Littorio asked, slightly confused at the straightforward strategy.

"_Hah, not straight at her, of course. That's an easy way to have a hole torn through you by that cannon of hers," _Rackham said. "_Well, my ship has rammed into quite a few enemy vessels, so I know a thing or two about charging the enemy. Since we have the numbers advantage here, that makes it even easier… We can attack her from all three dimensions. Jean Bart, increase your altitude, and Littorio, lower yours. Bismarck, stay level with the enemy. The three of you should advance towards the enemy, but Bismarck, you are the one in charge of firing at the enemy. Jean Bart, you shoot second, and Littorio, you third."_

"_We are staggering our shots?" _Littorio asked.

"_Somewhat, yes. This formation is designed to trap the enemy from three dimensions," _Rackham began. "_For example, when Bismarck fires, the enemy will have no choice but to dodge the attack by going left or right. She cannot go up or down because you and Jean Bart will be blocking off both those directions, so all she can do is move laterally. Therefore, Jean Bart will fire second in response to whatever direction the enemy moves in. But given this is a ship girl, she may be able to dodge the second shot too, and that is where Littorio's third shot will land the hit. If you all fire at the same time and at the same spot, it nullifies our numbers advantage and lets the enemy do whatever she wants while your cannons are recharging."_

"I see. And eventually once we get close enough, our firing angles will converge and completely trap the enemy," Bismarck concluded.

"_That's right. As for the enemy destroyers hovering around you, ignore them. The anti-air fire from our base is going to start targeting them, and they can barely scratch you anyway. Just get moving before their real reinforcements arrive."_

"_All right. Executing orders," _Jean Bart acknowledged as she and Littorio moved to their assigned positions.

Bismarck spurred her vessel forward, the massive propulsion jets on her ship creating a low hum that could be heard throughout the empty bridge. The enemy ship girl fired her beam at Bismarck, but the German battleship expected this and swung her ship to the right, evading the shot easily enough. The destroyers that had been pestering her had sailed away, presumably to avoid getting in their battleship's way.

_Dodging those beams will become tougher as we close the distance, _Bismarck realized. _But that works both ways, I suppose. With this tactic, the enemy will undoubtedly succumb to our tri-pronged attack._

Returning fire, Bismarck shot her own plasma cannon, the beam cleanly ripping through the air and rushing towards the enemy. The opposing battleship dodged the beam, but did so by sailing vertically upwards instead of downwards. Jean Bart fired her own cannon in reaction to that, but her shot sailed a bit too high, barely missing wiping out the enemy ship's bridge. That forced the enemy to descend again, and Littorio's beam came flying towards it, but missed wide right.

"_Tch. She moved vertically instead of laterally," _Jean Bart said.

"_Haha! Yes, I saw that," _came Rackham's flippant reply. "_Don't worry. She can afford to do that right now, but like Bismarck said, as you get closer to her, it will become impossible for her to move up or down to dodge because you and Littorio will be able to close off those angles much faster. Stick to the plan."_

The enemy fired again, and again she shot at Bismarck.

Once more, Bismarck evaded. _I suppose it's easier to fire straight on than it is to shoot upwards or downwards. If that's the case, then I have no excuse to be missing more than Jean Bart and Littorio right now!_

Narrowing her blue eyes in focus, Bismarck mentally aimed her cannons and fired. Given that the enemy dodged upwards last time, Bismarck guessed that she would try and dodge downwards this time.

She turned out to be right. Her laser beam, which she had angled downwards purposely, still missed but was close enough that it burned the paint off the keel of the enemy ship. Jean Bart's cannon followed up on the surprised enemy, and the opposing ship girl barely swerved out of the way of the French battleship's shot. However, her adjustments were so minor that Littorio could aim fairly easily, and the third shot slammed directly into the enemy ship girl, causing a massive explosion on her port side as Littorio's beam smashed through the ship.

"Bene_! Hit scored," _Littorio cheered.

"_Well, now! Very good!" _a third party's voice sounded through the ship girls' communications systems. She spoke in refined English, and her voice held an air of proud majesty to it. "_An excellent shot. It took you three long enough, eh?"_

Bismarck's eyes went wide upon hearing that voice. "It's you… King George V."

"_Ah, is that Bismarck? We meet again!" _the enemy ship girl replied cheerily. "_What an honor it is for me to be able to fight you twice! It will be my pleasure to sink you for good this time."_

Gritting her teeth, Bismarck scowled. "Fool. Are you in any position to be saying things like that?"

To emphasize her words, Bismarck fired her guns with full force at King George. Even after taking significant damage, King George managed to evade the shot, though just barely.

_We won't even need Littorio this time. Jean Bart's follow up shot will finish you! _Bismarck thought confidently.

"_Reinforcements, brace yourselves!" _Rackham's urgent warning came through the comms.

Before anyone could react accordingly to that, an enormous plasma beam shot roared through the air from directly above the ship girls. It was almost twice the size of a battleship's cannon beam and was hued in the colors of the rainbow instead of the normal bright blue. Jean Bart was forced to cut off her own shot in order to try and evade, though she was not very successful in doing so. The unexpectedly-large beam completely tore off her bow and sent her spinning through the air, on fire.

Bismarck had slightly more time to evade the shot, but only a fraction of a second more. Backpedaling, she sailed out of the way, the enormous beam of energy shooting right past her front bridge windows and giving her a spectacular view of the seven-colored laser that would have undoubtedly eliminated her had it made contact with her ship.

"_W-What the hell was that?" _Littorio asked, shocked. Luckily she was unharmed as well.

Bismarck angled her ship upwards to try and see where the beam had come from. An enormous black spaceship hung overhead, blotting out the artificial lighting on the moon. Like its cannon beam, the ship itself was almost twice the size of a regular battleship.

"_Hahaha! I wish I could see the look on your face right now, Bismarck!" _King George jeered.

"Grhh… What is that thing?" Bismarck demanded to know.

"_You're asking me? Why don't you ask her yourself?" _King George replied smugly.

"Fine. If you won't answer, then die!" Bismarck fired both her main cannons at the damaged enemy battleship.

King George seemed to have slowed down due to her injuries, and Bismarck's twin beams sailed true to their target… However, the moment before they could impact into the Brit, another battleship suddenly swooped in front of King George.

Strangely, this battleship was equipped with what appeared to be a large metal shield on its bow, and when Bismarck's laser beams impacted it, they simply bounced off harmlessly.

"_Huh?! What sort of ships are these!" _Littorio was flabbergasted.

"_Get a hold of yourselves!" _Rackham cut in. "_Jean Bart, are you all right? Can you move?"_

"_Urgh… Yeah, I can. Just not very quickly, and my cannons are damaged to hell," _Jean Bart answered, clearly in pain.

"_Okay. The three of you need to get out of there as fast as you can. All the other groups have been defeated. Io is lost," _Rackham gave them the bad news.

"What? But what about you, sir? Are you not still on that base?" Bismarck asked.

"_Yes, but now that our fleet has been destroyed, the enemy has no reason to damage this base any further, so I am safe for now. I'll find some way out," _he said. "_More importantly, you three need to leave. Exit the atmosphere and head back into outer space and join up with the remnants of our fleet. Their coordinates should be visible on your radar."_

"_Damn it! We're just supposed to run away?" _Littorio cursed.

"_Yes. Now hurry and do it before that huge ship fires again! With a cannon that large, it must have a long recharge period. King George is damaged and the ship with the shield doesn't seem interested in chasing you, so now is your chance!" _Rackham told them. "_Jean Bart, lead the way. Bismarck, Littorio, face towards the enemy and sail backwards. It will be slower, but Jean can't move quickly anyway and this will at least allow you to retaliate if they fire at you. Get moving!"_

"_Argh, I don't like this!" _Littorio said, but she and the other two ships did as they were told anyway. "_Captain, try not to die yet! We barely got to know each other, after all!"_

"_This isn't my place to die, so don't worry about me," _Rackham responded. "_Just make sure you three get out safely! I'll contact you once I manage to escape."_

Bismarck sailed alongside Littorio as Jean Bart led the way up and out of the atmosphere of Io. As they left, Bismarck couldn't help but let her blue eyes linger over the massive black spaceship that hung ominously over the volcanoes on the surface.

"_You're running away, Bismarck?" _

The unidentified voice jarred Bismarck's consciousness when she heard it. The words were spoken in a calm, smooth manner, and yet there was an uneasy edge of danger lining them. More surprisingly, the words were spoken in German, and the voice felt familiar to Bismarck… Yet she could not figure out who the speaker was like she could with King George V. The voice had an air of authority to it too, though Bismarck's emotion module recognized the feeling as one more similar to the respect a child has for their parents rather than the obedience a subordinate has for their superior.

She tried to think of anyone the voice could belong to or why she felt this way when she heard it, but nothing came to mind. Bismarck was the pride of the Kriegsmarine and its most famous ship, and in her entire life as a World War II warship, she could not recall anyone that she had that type of a relationship with. She had her sister and those who respected and idolized her, but she herself never looked up to anyone else.

_Could it be a warship who came before me? Or one that came after I was already sunk? _Bismarck tried to think.

"_Hey, Bismarck, what's the problem? You're lagging behind!" _Littorio snapped at her.

"M-My apologies." Bismarck hurriedly got back into position.

"_Yes, run, Bismarck, and live to fight another day," _the voice spoke again. "_I will be waiting."_

Given Littorio, Jean Bart, or Captain Rackham were not making any comments, Bismarck guessed that the voice was speaking directly to her communications system.

_Is it that black ship? _Bismarck wondered.

She tried establishing a connection with it, but at this point, she had moved too far away and the large spaceship had begun to retreat as well.

_Just who exactly was that…?_

* * *

"Are you finished speaking to your fleet?" Major General Wichmann asked Rackham, walking over to where the captain was seated at the console.

Rackham turned away from the screens. "Yes. I trust you saw everything that just happened?"

"I was a bit busy watching the feeds of the battle going on in the base, but yes, I did catch glimpses of it," Wichmann confirmed. "What was that enormous black battleship? And the strange one with the shield? Don't tell me the three of them are ship girls too?"

"I can't say for certain, but given the way they fought, it's very likely," Rackham said grimly. He glanced at Belfast and Enterprise. "Did any of you two recognize those ships?"

"King George V was formerly the flagship of the Royal Navy. She is very powerful, and she was one of the ships who helped sink Bismarck during World War II," Belfast provided.

"Hm, is that so?" Rackham's curiosity was piqued, but now was not the time for that. Any plans he had of capturing the enemy ship girls had been dashed. "I guess the other two didn't speak, so there's no way of knowing their identities. Regardless, General, the battle is lost. I've ordered all my ships to retreat."

"Yes, though there is still one battle that remains to be concluded," Wichmann said as the sounds of gunfire grew closer and the personnel in the command center started to grow increasingly nervous.

Rackham smirked. "Indeed there is. So, do you have a plan to get us out of here? You are the one in charge of the ground forces, after all."

"Well, we've got the _Soyuz_, don't we?" Wichmann returned Rackham's smirk. "That is our only way out. Luckily all the enemy ships have left this base, so we should be able to escape unimpeded if we can get to your ship."

"Isn't she still under repair?" Rackham asked.

"I just received word from Major Michels that the repairs have been finished. He is one of the best in the business," Wichmann stated proudly.

_That quickly? I guess they just put out the fire and patched her up enough so that she won't fall apart, then, _Rackham assumed.

The sound of lasers bursting intensified, indicating that the fighting had advanced all the way to the command room. If the enemy could take the command room, then their mission would be a success.

"Schutzstaffel squad, what's your status?" Wichmann asked into his console.

"_... Enemy has advanced towards the command room. We have been able to reduce their numbers by about 50%, but our unit has lost about 80% functionality. The regular guard unit has been completely wiped out, and the Soviet marine unit has taken 50% casualties. We still outnumber them by a factor of two to one."_

"Great, they're going to wipe out my marines at this rate," Rackham frowned. "Enterprise, Belfast, I don't suppose any of you can fight?"

"Er, I know how to shoot, but I don't know how much use I'll be," Enterprise admitted.

"I can fight with any sort of plasma rifle or pistol and I am knowledgeable in CQC," Belfast offered.

"Hm, really? I guess not all of you ship girls are programmed in the same way," Rackham said, recalling how he and his marines had been able to take out Enterprise fairly easily once they boarded her ship… Though they did outnumber her quite heavily.

"Take this, then." Wichmann pulled out his handgun and handed it over to Belfast. "I'll try to see if there are any more spares around here. Captain, you may just have to fight using that sword of yours."

"Fine with me. I've been looking for an excuse to use this thing!" Rackham unsheathed his cutlass.

Enterprise glanced at him nervously. "You really know how to use that? I didn't think swordfighting would be very common in this age…"

"I'm part of the pirate fleet, of course I know how to use it," Rackham said matter-of-factly. "But it's not going to make a difference against the Mars Raiders, haha! One of them could probably disarm me barehanded!"

"You're praising the enemy too much…" Enterprise sighed.

"Fear not, Master, I will protect you," Belfast inspected her new handgun.

Wichmann returned to the trio, holding another handgun and a smoke grenade. "Looks like this is all we had in storage."

The console by Wichmann's chair blared to life again. "_Sir! They are breaching the command room!"_

Moments later, a blast sounded as the metal door to the command room was blown open. A group of soldiers stormed inside even as the fighting continued just outside the room. They wore strange-looking, full-body armor which was colored a dull red, and their sturdy helmets had lustrous gold visors. Each soldier carried a plasma rifle in one hand and an axe in the other, able to use each normally two-handed weapon fairly easily with only one hand.

"Surrender now and we'll spare your lives!" one of the Raiders shouted, his voice amplified through his helmet's speakers.

"If we surrender, will you allow us safe passage off the moon?" General Wichmann asked.

"You will become our prisoners, but we promise to treat you fairly," the Raider answered.

"Then go fuck yourselves!" Wichmann replied, tossing the smoke grenade at the entranceway. "Everyone who has a weapon, fire into that smoke! Keep them distracted until the Schutzstaffel break through!"

The sound and sight of laser pistols firing simultaneously lit up the relatively dark room, all converging upon the position of the Mars Raiders. However, before the smoke had even cleared, the Raiders emerged from the smoke completely unscathed and unperturbed. One of them fired his plasma rifle one-handed and shot a hole through the head of one of the command room personnel, while another Raider tossed his axe like a tomahawk and pretty much beheaded the lieutenant from earlier even though he was across the room.

"Take cover behind these consoles," Rackham told Enterprise and Belfast, moving to hide behind one of the desks.

He then peeked his head out to see if he could find an opening to escape, but as soon as he did, the Raider who had killed the lieutenant spotted him.

"_Blyad_, we've been seen! Prepare yourselves, Enterprise, Belfast!" Rackham readied his sabre as the Raider leapt over a desk to get to them.

Belfast stood up and pointed her gun at the enemy, but the Raider sidestepped out of the way right before she fired. He then grabbed her wrists and jerked her hands downwards, but Belfast took that opportunity to knee him in the groin… Which led to nothing except for the maid to hurt her knee since the Raider was armored even there.

"Stay out of my way!" the Raider picked up Belfast with one hand and tossed her into the wall.

"Thanks for the distraction, Belfast!"

Rackham managed to slip around behind the Raider while Belfast was holding him off. Surprised, the Raider whirled around to face Rackham and was met with the captain's cutlass piercing through his golden visor and into his skull. The Raider fell to the ground, dead.

"This sword was specifically made to cut through anti-laser armor," Rackham said, looking approvingly at the blood glossing the tip of his blade. His yellow eyes glinted strangely.

"Captain, look out!" Enterprise suddenly warned.

A Mars Raider popped out from behind a nearby desk. "Die, Communist scum!"

He pointed his rifle at Rackham and pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. Dumbfounded, the Raider paused to stare at this weapon. That gave Belfast a chance. With amazing precision, she used her pistol to hit the Raider in the left hand, knocking his axe right out of his grip.

Rackham took that opportunity to rush at the Raider. The Martian quickly recovered, though, and he tossed his rifle away in order to prepare for CQC… And yet, before the Raider could do anything, the cutlass had already torn through his armor and pierced out his back. The Raider slid down Rackham's sword like a human kebab, twitching as he died.

As the captain pulled out the sword, Enterprise went over to him with an awestruck expression.

"How did you move so fast, sir?" she wondered.

"What do you mean?" Rackham asked as he wiped the blood off his sword onto his boot.

Belfast had also recovered and walked over. "You moved blindingly quickly, Master. That soldier had no idea what was going on."

"Really? I was trying to be fast for sure, but I didn't think my speed was _that _impressive… If anything, I think this one Raider might have just been especially incompet- hrk!"

Rackham fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the ground. As his eyes burned and trembled, he bent over and threw up a bright yellow, almost neon liquid.

"Master, are you all right?" Belfast knelt down beside him urgently, rubbing his back.

"Ghh… What… What the hell?" Rackham wondered, staring at the bright liquid he had just thrown up. Suddenly he felt very tired.

"W-What is that?" Enterprise grimaced upon seeing the liquid. "Wow… What did you have for breakfast, sir?"

"I don't… I…"

The captain slumped over, unconscious.

"This has become quite the troublesome situation," Belfast frowned, her violet eyes darting around the room for a way out as she picked up Rackham.

At this point, the Schutzstaffel and the marines had broken into the command room and had managed to corner the remaining Raiders, though the Martians continued to put up a fierce fight. This at least allowed the survivors of the command room a respite since the Raiders were no longer focusing on them.

Enterprise took in the battle from afar. "It looks like we may be safe at this rate! Our side is winning -"

She cut herself off when she heard Belfast hiss and drop Rackham to the ground.

"Belfast, what are you doing!" Enterprise was shocked.

Horrified, Belfast knelt back down beside Rackham's unconscious form and tried to pick him up again, but the moment she touched him, she recoiled in pain.

"For some reason, touching Master sends an intense stinging sensation throughout my entire body…" Belfast said, perplexed.

"What?" Enterprise tried for herself, reaching out a hand towards the captain. Upon making contact, Enterprise felt like she had been electrocuted, burned, and whipped at the same time, and she cursed as she quickly withdrew her hand.

"I am not sure what is going on… I have touched Master numerous times before and yet have never felt anything like this sensation," Belfast said.

Enterprise glanced at the bright yellow liquid. "Could it have had something to do with that…?"

"It is a possibility. For now, let's leave him be. Perhaps the effect will wear off," Belfast decided.

The ship girls stood guard over their unconscious captain as they watched the battle wind to an end. Only one Mars Raider was left, valiantly fending off six Schutzstaffel and five marines all by himself. However, it was not to last, and a laser shot from one of the Schutzstaffel managed to hit the Raider in the shoulder and knock him off balance. A marine that the two ship girls recognized as Master Chief Kidd leapt over the overturned table the Raider had been using as cover and planted his boots squarely into the Raider's chest, then plunged his cutlass into the Raider's visor, killing him and ending the battle.

There were no cheers as the battle concluded, only the sound of footsteps shuffling as the Schutzstaffel moved to evacuate Major General Wichmann and the few remaining command room staff. Chief Kidd sheathed his sword and made his way over to Belfast and Enterprise.

"So you two made it out, huh? Looks like the Captain is still breathing as well."

Kidd bent over to pick up Rackham.

"Wait, don't -" Enterprise started, but stopped short when she saw Kidd lift Rackham and sling him over his shoulder with ease.

Kidd raised an eyebrow. "What? I didn't see any injuries on him or anything."

"N-Never mind," Enterprise blushed. _The effect must have worn off…_

"Is the ship prepared for takeoff?" Belfast asked.

"_Da_, Commander Bonnet has got everything set up to launch as soon as we arrive," Kidd said. "I have no idea how the fleet battle has gone, but Bonnet's been watching everything, so he'll know what to do. Come on, let's go."


	7. The Oppressors I

**12/06, GCY 320**

**0800 hours**

**Io Colony, Grand Jupiter Reich**

A tall man wearing a dull red but ornate military uniform strode through the dark passageway of the spaceship until he reached a door guarded by a pair of soldiers dressed in jade green uniforms. He was broad-shouldered and exceedingly handsome, and his well-groomed blond hair and striking emerald eyes were accentuated by the charming air that seemed to be a permanent fixture around him.

He wore an easy smile on his princely face as he approached the guards, and they quickly saluted and allowed him to pass through the door. The man entered into a fancy conference room with a plush maroon carpet and expensive-looking, oriental tapestries hanging on the walls. In the middle of the room was a large, glossy, wooden oval-shaped table. Five people were already seated, all of them dressed in some sort of military uniform. The man made his way over and sat next to a woman who was dressed in the same uniform as he was.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Vice Admiral Walker," a gruff man with a dark beard and hawk-like eyes scoffed when the blond man took a seat.

Walker smirked. "My apologies, Fleet Admiral Montbars. I had many calls of congratulations from headquarters to attend to."

Montbars narrowed his eyes. "Don't get cocky because of one victory, Vice Admiral."

"Now, now, let us behave nicely, please," a woman with long black hair, dark eyes, and pale, porcelain skin cut in. She was seated at the head of the table and was dressed in a green uniform of the same shade as the guards outside. "It is indeed an occasion for celebration. Why not allow our Martian friend his moment of glory?"

Walker flashed her a smile. "Thank you, Fleet Admiral Shih. I knew you would understand."

"It sounded to me like she was being condescending, not praising you," the girl seated beside Montbars said.

She was the youngest in the room, and she had dark blonde hair which was tied into twintails. She leaned back in her chair, her blue eyes looking bored as she barely resisted the urge to put her feet up onto the table.

"Trust me, kid, Will knows and doesn't give a shit. He's just like that," the woman wearing the same uniform as Vice Admiral Walker stated as she took a sip from the whiskey in her glass. In contrast to the girl she was speaking to, she was much older, and wrinkles were beginning to become visible on her tired, worn-out face.

"Come now, Fleet Admiral Critchett, it truly is an occasion for celebration, is it not? Now that we have captured Io, this is the furthest that the Joint Galactic Committee has ever made it in the history of this war," Walker stated. He then cast a sly glance at Montbars. "I'm so very humbled to have been the one to think up the strategy that led us this far."

"Strategy? Don't kid yourself. It's thanks to those damn ship girls or whatever of yours," Montbars spat.

Walker laughed, a harmonious sound which lacked genuinity. "True, this victory is largely thanks to them. But it was I who insisted that we make them the linchpins of our battle plan, was it not? In fact, Admiral Montbars, I seem to recall you saying that we didn't need them at all."

"Heh. I'm not ashamed to admit when I'm wrong, and I'll admit I was wrong there," Montbars grinned. "But do you know what? Fine. Keep letting this go to your head for all I care… Just don't expect me to save you when you inevitably find yourself in a situation that you can't handle."

"Ah, they're fighting again," the young, black-haired man seated beside Fleet Admiral Shih sighed. "I knew this would happen… I want to go home…"

The young girl next to Montbars shot him a weird look. "Would you man up, Po? Sometimes I wonder how you even became a vice admiral in the first place…"

That caused the black-haired man to perk up. "Look who's talking! Jeannie, you're even more unfit to be a vice admiral than I am!"

Walker laughed again. "You two are full of energy today, aren't you?"

Fleet Admiral Crtichett snorted at that. "They were both just slouching around until they started fighting. You and Montbars are a bad influence on them."

"Please, Critchett. Don't lump me in together with him, no matter what the context is," Montbars frowned.

As the admirals continued to chatter among themselves, Walker scanned over the room's occupants with his mysterious green eyes. It was rare that the heads of all the navies in the Joint Galactic Committee got together like this.

Seated directly to his right was Fleet Admiral Mary Critchett. Her light blonde hair had turned silver in some spots, but her face still looked young enough, especially her gray eyes, which shone with passion during a fleet battle. From a poor farming family, she rose up from humble beginnings to eventually attain her current position: head of the Free Martian Union's fleet and Walker's commanding officer.

At the head of the table was Fleet Admiral Shih, leader of the Imperial Venus Fleet. Next to her was her subordinate, Vice Admiral Cheung Po Tsai, a relatively young officer who was hailed as a genius but was also shy and lacking in confidence. These two were technically the 'hosts' of this gathering since they were all currently aboard a ship belonging to the Venus Fleet.

Finally, directly across from Walker was Fleet Admiral Montbars and Vice Admiral Jeannie Bonadvis. Montbars was the head of the Golden Mercury Republic's fleet, a rough but competent and calculating man who had achieved many victories during his military career. Bonadvis was his protege, though he didn't seem to like her very much. Bonadvis was considered a natural when it came to tactics, but like Tsai, she also had a flaw which marred her genius, namely her laziness and apathy. Both Bonadvis and Tsai had actually gone to the same military academy together, which, funnily enough, was on Mars. Walker himself had graduated from there, though he was a few years older than either of them.

_An interesting collection of admirals, _Walker smirked to himself. _I eagerly await the day when I will stand above them all._

"Oi, what're you smiling to yourself for?" Critchett nudged him.

"Hm? It's nothing, ma'am," Walker replied pleasantly.

Critchett sighed, draining the last of her whiskey as Bonadvis and Tsai continued to argue. Meanwhile, Montbars and Shih discussed some other matter among themselves, as if they were used to their subordinates behaving like this.

"... You know, he's not entirely wrong," Critchett said.

Walker followed her eyes. "Fleet Admiral Montbars? About what?"

"Don't play dumb. About what he said earlier," Critchett gave him a disapproving frown. "You know the story of Icarus?"

"Ah, yes, the ancient myth from a country on Earth. Yes, I am familiar with it," Walker replied.

"Heh. Not surprising that you're very well-read. Well, anyway, then you know what my message is," Critchett said. "Don't fly too close to the sun, or you're going to get burned. Making it to Vice Admiral at your age is impressive enough; you don't need to aim any higher than that."

"Haha! As my superior officer, aren't you supposed to be encouraging me to shoot for the stars? It sounds like you're doing the opposite," Walker noted. "And besides, I am nothing special. In fact, both the other vice admirals in this very room are younger than I am."

"They're once-in-a-generation exceptions. Don't compare yourself to them," Critchett said.

Walker merely smiled at that and stayed silent. _Ah, Fleet Admiral Critchett… I know your intentions are good, but for me to stop here would be unthinkable. I will surpass everyone in this room, and I will go further than anyone has ever gone before in the history of the human species. My plans are beyond your comprehension._

"Okay, if I may, I would like to get this meeting officially underway," Fleet Admiral Shih announced. "Firstly, let me once again congratulate all of you, especially our Martian representatives, on the successful capture of Io. Vice Admiral Walker, it is especially thanks to your strategy that we were able to win. Your decision to utilize the ship girls in this battle and to split them separately to attack each one of the enemy's task forces proved to be wise. Your call to use the Mars Raiders to take over the Chlodwig Military Base was also a good decision, as we were able to fully take control of the enemy facilities without destroying them."

"Yaaay, great job," Bonadvis drawled sarcastically, clapping slowly.

Walker gave a whimsical bow. "Why thank you, mademoiselle."

"Good, now that we've formally thanked the Martians for their service, allow me to formally berate them for a bit," Montbars began gruffly. "It was clear that in this battle, the enemy also used ship girls… Three of them, in fact. And those three are almost certainly the three that we lost on that cargo ship that was en route to Mars. The Martians' decision to use a new, untested cloaking technology to transport that valuable cargo instead of the traditional escort was incredibly irresponsible and is now coming back to bite us in the ass."

Critchett sighed, looking longingly at her empty whiskey glass. "Here we go…"

"And that is not all," Montbars continued. "The Martians also gave two ship girls to the White Forces rebels even though these rebels were undermanned, under-armed, and most of all, completely unreliable. The Soviets easily crushed this little rebellion and either took control of or destroyed the ship girls we had given to the White Forces. It's all well and good that we finally know how useful the ship girls are, but the ill-thought out actions of the Martians has led us to lose five of them before we could even put them to good use."

"Admiral Montbars, as much as I respect you, your bad habit of looking at the negative side of things never ceases to amaze me," Walker smiled. "While those losses are tragic, don't forget that we now have the ability to lock the ship girls under our control, so even if the enemy were to capture them, they would not be able to turn them to their side anymore. Furthermore, the company on Earth which manufactures these ship girls is exclusively contracted with the Joint Galactic Committee. Taking these things together, it means that the JGC will be able to vastly outnumber the Outer Reach in terms of the number of ship girls each side possesses. Yes, they may have taken five from us, but those five are the only five they will ever have."

Montbars scoffed at that. "You're being too optimistic."

"That aside, I would like to know the status of the ship girls that we do currently have under our command," Fleet Admiral Shih brought the discussion back on track. "Admiral Walker, you were their commander. Can you give us a full report?"

"Of course. Of the three ship girls who took part in that battle, two of them were completely unscathed, while the third took heavy damage to her vessel but is doing fine after a short visit to the medical ward," Walker provided.

"Wait, so how exactly do they work? Do they take damage when their ship is hit? Do they have the same biology as humans?" Vice Admiral Tsai interjected, suddenly interested.

"They don't take damage proportional to the damage their ship takes, if that is what you mean," Walker answered. "However, they can get hurt just like regular humans, so if there is an explosion or their ship rocks back and forth and they fall or get hit with shrapnel, they will be injured. As for whether their biology is similar to ours, I am no expert, but it seems that way thus far. We've been able to treat them with the same medicines and procedures that we would use on humans."

"Really? Even though they're robots?" Bonadvis raised an eyebrow. "I'm kind of curious about the company that makes them now. Where did they get this technology? No other type of android is that detailed."

"Who knows? I am just as curious as you are," Walker shrugged.

"Wait a minute. You are in direct communication with that company, and you don't even know that much?" Montbars frowned. "You haven't bothered asking them where they get their materials or how they first came up with the idea? Or why they decided to sell them to us in the first place?"

"What's important is knowing how much they cost and if they work properly, is it not? Personally I don't have time to sit around and ask unnecessary questions, but perhaps you are different, sir," Walker goaded.

Surprisingly, instead of retorting, Montbars only fixed Walker with a stare, his icy blue eyes deep in thought.

_Admiral Montbars, perhaps I have underestimated you, _Walker thought, unable to suppress the excited grin that came to his face.

"Let us focus on the more immediate concerns, please," Shih once again shifted the course of the discussion. "Regardless of our victory here, we must begin to think about what the Outer Reach's next move will be. Capturing Io is uncharted territory for us, and though it allows us access to a forward operating base, it also means that we are deep in Outer Reach territory now. The Grand Jupiter Reich especially will not take this lying down. Ship girls aside, let us take stock of our conventional forces. Tsai, if you will, please."

"Yes, ma'am," Vice Admiral Tsai spoke up, though he looked nervous to have everyone's eyes on him. "In the previous battle, we lost four destroyers and three heavy cruisers, so at the moment, our fleet consists of ten destroyers, five light cruisers, five aircraft carriers, and two battleships, not counting the ship girls."

"This is a three-planet fleet and this is the best we could muster? That's pathetic," Montbars was dissatisfied.

"Why don't you lobby your government to send more ships, then?" Critchett asked.

"You know very well that a portion of our fleet is tied up putting down a rebellion, so that is going to be difficult," Montbars said, crossing his arms. "And we have provided three of the aircraft carriers and one of the battleships, so I would argue that we have actually contributed the most."

"Technically speaking, Mars has contributed the most ships, and we're the only ones who actually lost any ships," Walker pointed out. "Mercury and Venus combined have contributed a total of five ships only."

"We would love to send more than just this battleship, but the Empress would like to see some proof that we can reliably hold this position before she agrees to commit more of Venus' forces," Fleet Admiral Shih said.

"But that's rather circular thinking, isn't it? For us to reliably hold this position, we first need an adequately-sized fleet," Walker smiled.

"Indeed," Shih returned his smile, but there was no warmth in it… Not that there was any in Walker's either. "How about you simply take this as another opportunity to show the JGC the worth of the ship girls, Vice Admiral Walker?"

Walker smirked. "Perhaps I will do that."

"All right, then it's settled. Our wonder boy here will have another chance to prove himself," Montbars said quite unhappily. "Can we end this meeting now? I have to get back to Mercury soon."

Shih nodded. "Yes, I suppose we've addressed all the main concerns. I also must be getting back in order to give my report to the Empress."

"If you're all leaving, I assume you're all right with leaving your ships under Will's command? After all, I have to return to Mars too and can't stay here to supervise him," Fleet Admiral Critchett asked her peers.

"Of course not. That's why I'm leaving Jeannie here," Montbars stated.

The twintailed girl sat up in surprise. "Wait, what?! That's the first I'm hearing of this!"

"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Bonadvis, you will have Tsai here for company," Shih assured her.

Now it was the young man from Venus' turn to be shocked. "W-What? You're leaving me here?"

"Oh, quit acting like brats. You're both Vice Admirals," Montbars sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Walker just might be the most responsible one left on Io."

"Ah, I've been praised by Fleet Admiral Montbars. My life is now complete!" Walker smiled brightly.

"Spare me," Montbars groaned. "Jeannie, this is your chance to show those stuck-up politicians back home that you deserve your title of vice admiral. Don't fuck this up."

"_Oui_, you can count on me, sir!" Bonadvis found some determination at those words.

"The same goes for you, Tsai. I know you can do it," Fleet Admiral Shih encouraged her subordinate.

"T-Thank you ma'am! I won't disappoint you," Tsai blushed.

Fleet Admiral Shih then stood up. "All right, with that, this meeting is officially adjourned. Vice Admirals Walker, Bonadvis, and Tsai, please do your best in our absence. You are all young, and the future of the Joint Galactic Committee rests upon your shoulders. Please show the solar system the resolve and strength of our alliance."

The three vice admirals stood up and saluted as their superiors exited the room.

"Ah… I can't believe I have to do actual work now," Bonadvis collapsed in her chair with a sigh as soon as the fleet admirals were out of sight.

"There's no way you made vice admiral without doing actual work!" Tsai said with disbelief.

Walker stood back up, brushed off his uniform, and made for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Bonadvis wondered.

"There's something I have to attend to," he said simply before exiting.

Vice Admiral Walker went through the passageways of the Venusian battleship until he reached the pod docking area, then walked over to the pod he had come in on. The pod was fairly standard for all JGC ships; small, but big enough to fit one person comfortably, at least for short periods of time. The inside of it contained a comfortable chair, some rations, and a control panel for adjusting the course and temperature of the pod.

Walker entered the pod and opened the interface, setting the coordinates for his return back to his own flagship, the aircraft carrier _Explorer_. The pod launched out from the battleship and made the short trip through the skies of Io over to the _Explorer_, which was hovering in place not too far away.

Surrounding the _Explorer_ were three other ships, all of them battleships. They were the three that had fought the Outer Reach ship girls in the last battle: King George V's ship, the battleship with the shield, and the large, black, menacing battleship that dwarfed the nearby spaceships.

When the pod docked back into the Martian aircraft carrier, Walker started on his way to the medical ward instead of the bridge. Entering the sick bay, he found King George V seated on one of the beds, a nurse busy wrapping a bandage around a wound on her left arm.

"Ah, Admiral Walker. Good day to you, sir," King George greeted with a pleasant smile.

"Hello. I see your wounds have been tended to," he noted as the nurse left the two of them alone.

"Indeed. I am fit to fight once more," King George declared proudly, standing up.

"That may be so, but unfortunately the same can't be said for your vessel. It's going to take a while to fix the damage to your ship."

King George sighed. "It will, won't it… My apologies for that. I should not have let myself be hit."

"That's all right. It was partly my fault for thinking that the enemy ships would simply stay hovering over the military base in order to defend it," Walker admitted. "That aside, where are our other two friends? I thought I told them to gather on the _Explorer_."

"South Dakota is probably on the bridge already since that is where you said to convene. She's not the type to delay orders to check up on a comrade in the medical ward," King George said. "As for the other one… Who knows if she even bothered to show up."

Walker frowned, running a hand through his blond hair. "Friedrich der Grosse… I don't get it. For some reason, the control module on her doesn't seem to work. Luckily she's decided to fight for us at the moment, but who knows what she will decide to do next. Not to mention that unlike the rest of you, she has no historical counterpart, at least not one that was ever completed and launched… She is a strange one. Anyway, we should probably get going to the bridge."

As the pair walked together towards the bridge of the Martian battleship, King George V recalled an important detail she had left out.

"By the way, Admiral, about Friedrich," she started, "there is something that may be concerning. During the last battle, one of the enemy's ship girls was Bismarck of the Kriegsmarine, meaning that she served the same fleet as Friedrich der Grosse did. Although Friedrich hasn't shown any signs of betraying us at the moment, I thought that may be important to keep in mind."

Walker furrowed his brow. "Bismarck…? Yes, that name came up quite often while I was researching World War II warships. But given that Friedrich der Grosse was never actually completed, should the two of them really know each other?"

"Hm, I am not sure of that myself," King George V replied. "Back during the battle, Friedrich admittedly did attack Bismarck without any hesitation, so perhaps I am worrying over nothing."

"That's all right. It's better to know too much than to know too little, after all," Walker said. "I wish I could access Friedrich der Grosse's communications logs to see if the two of them had any contact during the battle, but unfortunately I don't think Friedrich would be willing to share any of that with me."

The two of them then arrived at the bridge, where they were greeted by a tan-skinned woman with lustrous black hair tied into a pleated ponytail.

"Sir, good morning," South Dakota greeted with a salute. "It does not appear that Friedrich der Grosse has arrived yet."

"I don't think she'll be coming," Walker sighed as he returned her salute. "At least you are here. Good work during the battle, South Dakota."

"I was simply following orders, sir. No need for thanks," South Dakota said.

"Right." Vice Admiral Walker sat down in his chair, then noticed that he had received a message on the console. "... It looks like the enemy forces have completely retreated from this sector. No more fighting for now, I suppose."

"Ah, I had wanted to pay that Bismarck back for the hits she scored," King George V lamented.

"You'll get your chance eventually," Walker assured her.

For a moment, his eyes flashed an unnatural yellow color before returning to their standard blue hue.

"Yes… We will all get our chance eventually."

* * *

**12/08, GCY 320**

**1600 hours**

**Titanes, Titan Colony, Soviet Satellites of Saturn**

"Landing confirmed. Safe to disembark," Lieutenant Roberts let Captain Rackham know.

The captain leaned back in his seat and breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, we're home. It will be good to have some time off."

"A rare opportunity, though I am sure our break will be short," Commander Bonnet, who was standing beside him, said.

"That's for sure," Rackham replied, standing up. "Looks like our ship girls have landed as well. Bonnet, tell Enterprise and Belfast to meet me outside. I'll leave the rest of the disembark procedures to you."

"It looks like your break begins before mine does, sir." Bonnet frowned at having the extra work thrust upon him.

"Haha! When you make captain rank, you can abuse your subordinates too," Rackham said jokingly, clapping him on the shoulder before walking off.

He exited the light cruiser and entered out into the bustling docks. Originally the _Soyuz _had not been scheduled to return to port so soon, so there were only a handful of people gathered around waiting for their loved ones to disembark off the ship. Nevertheless, there were numerous other military personnel, mechanics, and engineers rushing around the docks.

_It looks like they are preparing for a big offensive. Unsurprising considering the enemy has taken Io. _

Rackham frowned to himself as he recalled the aftermath of that battle. He had no memory of what happened after the Martian Raiders attacked the command room back at Chlodwig Base, nor of how he escaped from there and made it back onto the _Soyuz_. All he remembered was waking up in the medical ward and being told that the battle had ended two days ago. He also had no recollection of why he passed out, and the only people who were with him at that time, Enterprise and Belfast, had no clue either.

_They said that I threw up a yellow, plasma-like substance before I passed out… In that case…_

His frown grew deeper. _I've still got ways to go, it seems._

"Hey, look, it's the Captain!"

He recognized that voice as Littorio's, and sure enough, he spotted the green-haired battleship waving to him, along with Bismarck and Jean Bart.

He had not heard much from the three of them since the battle ended, mainly because he had been too busy dealing with the fallout from the loss of Io. He had to coordinate with the remnants of the fleet as well as convey the situation to Admiral Teach, who was quite livid about the outcome of the battle and the revelation that the enemy had begun deploying their own ship girls.

All he had heard was that Jean Bart had come over to the _Soyuz _to get medical treatment, and that she was in no mortal danger. Sure enough, she looked healthy now, save for the fact that her left arm was in a sling, having broken it when her ship had been hit.

"Sir. It's good to see you are well," Bismarck greeted as the trio approached. "We were told that you fell unconscious during the battle."

"It was nothing serious," Rackham blushed slightly out of embarrassment. "Anyway, sorry for the long time it took to return here. You three must have been bored."

"We're battleships. We are used to waiting around," Jean Bart simply said.

"Are you kidding me? _Si_, it was very boring!" Littorio complained.

"Well, luckily for you, things are probably going to get a lot more interesting from here on out," Rackham grinned. "But keep in mind that interesting also means dangerous, haha!"

"Bring on the danger, sir! I am not afraid!" Littorio flexed her bicep confidently.

Bismarck shot her a tempered glare. "Are you forgetting that we were soundly defeated in our last battle? What will we do if those ship girls return? What will we do if there are more of them than just the three we encountered?"

"We will simply defeat them. That is all," Belfast said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere with Enterprise in tow.

"Oho, it has been a while, you two! I am very much enjoying seeing your beautiful faces again!" Littorio greeted excitedly.

Bismarck frowned at Belfast. "That is all well and good, royal maid, but I would much rather have a concrete plan and more reinforcements than your assurances."

"And if we do not get those things? Do we simply give up, then?" Belfast smiled.

"N-No, but -"

"All right, all right," Rackham interrupted. "There is no need to worry. Belfast and Enterprise will definitely be given their own ships now, so we will be able to bolster our ship girl forces by two. Also, given that the enemy has now encroached into Outer Reach territory, Fleet Command will be putting together a massive fleet to retake Io."

"That is good, but there is still the unresolved issue of the number of enemy ship girls," Bismarck pointed out. "How do we know the enemy won't get any more than the three they already have?"

"We don't, of course. In fact, it's safe to assume that they will have more than just three in the next battle we fight," Rackham admitted.

Bismarck looked uneasy. "Then what do we do?"

"Just because we have fewer numbers doesn't mean we can't win," Enterprise stepped up. "Captain, in the next fight, I will show you the true power of the USS Enterprise. I will make up for our lack of numbers by myself if I have to."

"Oh? What's gotten into you? Weren't you reluctant to fight by our side before?" Rackham wondered.

Enterprise's gaze darkened. "In the last battle… I think I know who that battleship with the shield might have been. Seeing her there only made it obvious: from now on, we're going to run into many of those that we considered friends in our past lives. If I don't do anything, we're only going to end up killing each other. That's why I want to fight, so that at least I can say that I did everything I could to bring them back."

"Well said, Enterprise! I will also do my utmost!" Littorio declared, slinging her arm around the American aircraft carrier.

"Good to hear that you all haven't given up, at least," Rackham said. "But anyway, while the sailors are disembarking, I am going to go give my report to the admiral in charge here. You five should come along, because I am sure she would want to see you."

Following their captain, the ship girls walked through the massive dock of Titan's premier military base. As they passed through, they happened to walk by a group of large, humanoid robots docked towards the far wall.

Standing in stillness like silent guards, the machines were painted a dark red in color and were emblazoned with a hammer and sickle on their left breastplates. They were big but sleek, and in their right hands they held a large, black rifle which looked almost identical to the railgun cannons that were mounted on battleships. A big, silver sword was also mounted on each of their backs.

"What the hell are those things?" Jean Bart asked, craning her neck upwards at the massive robots.

Rackham turned to look. "Oh, those? They're Large-Scale Mechanized Mobile Strike Units, though everyone just calls them mechas. They were meant to be piloted by a single person each and are supposedly capable of taking down spaceships."

"So you train pilots for those? How come we haven't seen them on the battlefield?" Enterprise wondered.

"They were originally meant to combat the Sirens," Rackham said, his yellow eyes fixed upon the large, inactive mechas. "The logic was that since the Siren ships have shields that neutralize our lasers, if we could get close enough with the mechas, their shields wouldn't matter. However, the idea was quickly scrapped after we did some test runs… It turns out that those mechas couldn't even defeat a single unmanned drone from an aircraft carrier. Sending them into battle against Sirens would be beyond suicidal."

"Huh? Why even build them in the first place if their specs are so bad, then?" Jean Bart was confused.

"Their specs are great, actually. Thanks to their mobility and firepower, they easily have the potential to take down any type of spaceship," Rackham said. "The problem is the pilots. Not even our best pilots were able to sync well enough with the machines to make use of them. In fact, it would take inhuman awareness and sensorimotor skills to reach anywhere near the full potential of these mechas, and we couldn't replicate that with human pilots or with AI systems. These things are expensive to make, so after we realized that, we just stopped building them and shelved them."

"That's unfortunate. They look very cool," Littorio marvelled.

"Luckily we have you ship girls now, so we don't need them," Rackham pointed out. "Anyway, we should get going. I told the admiral we would be coming."

The ship girls continued to follow Rackham through the docks until they reached a rather unremarkable building. They entered, and Rackham went up to the front desk.

"Hello. I am Captain Jack Rackham, here to see Admiral Read. I have an appointment with her," Rackham greeted, speaking in Russian now.

"Welcome back, Comrade Captain. Unfortunately, Admiral Read is not here at the moment. Earlier today, she was recalled by the Politburo," the receptionist let him know.

"What? For what reason?" Rackham was taken aback.

"I'm afraid I do not have that information, sir," the receptionist simply told him.

Suppressing the urge to groan, Rackham led the ship girls back outside.

"It looks like Admiral Read isn't here, so never mind about that," he said to them. "Well… Aside from that meeting, I didn't have anything planned. What do you all usually do in your free time?"

The ship girls looked at each other, unsure of how to answer.

Rackham sighed. "Right, there isn't really much to do aboard the ship other than read books and watch TV. How about I take you on a tour of Titanes? It could at least be a change of pace."

"Oh, a city? Finally! I have been wondering what these space cities are like!" Littorio cheered excitedly.

Rackham looked at Belfast and Enterprise. "Did you visit any of the cities on Enceladus?"

Enterprise shook her head. "We mostly just stayed inside that base…"

"Okay then. There's not really anything that differentiates a city in space from a city on Earth, but if you've never been in one since World War II, then I guess it could be interesting," Rackham said.

"Actually, we were programmed with basic knowledge on what the cities in modern times are like. I am not sure why Littorio is acting like she has no clue what she is about to see," Bismarck frowned.

"Come now, surely you must admit that being programmed with certain information and being able to see it for yourself are two different things?" Littorio countered.

"I suppose that's correct…" Bismarck was forced to admit.

"Then it's settled. I feel kind of bad for leaving Bonnet with all the work, but eh," Rackham shrugged. "I do hope we don't draw too much attention to ourselves, though. You girls are dressed in quite the strange manner."

"Perhaps we could change into spare military uniforms?" Bismarck suggested.

"Maybe, but that would mean I would have to go back to the ship and risk getting caught by Commander Bonnet…" Rackham frowned. "Well, whatever. Big cities like this one usually have enough weirdos walking around that you can just blend in. Let's get going."

As Rackham led the ship girls out of the dock area and into the city proper, he couldn't help but be a bit distracted.

_Admiral Read was recalled by the Politburo? That can't be good, _he thought to himself. _And there's still the matter of how I fell unconscious back on Io… I didn't think that much would be enough to overexert me. _

His yellow eyes flashing, Rackham clenched his fists. _Next time… Things will be different!_


End file.
